JCI says independent probe shows its Shanghai battery plant did not leak lead
Johnson Controls Inc. says an independent investigation has concluded that the company's car battery plant in Shanghai did not cause the elevated levels of lead found in the blood of some children near the factory.
The investigative panel was headed by Xia Qing, the former deputy chairman of the China Research Academy of Environmental Science.
According to a statement by Johnson Controls, the panel inspected sites in the Kangqiao neighborhood of Pudong that could have caused the lead pollution.
The study indicated that JCI's factory could not be the cause of the pollution, but did identify lead emissions at a waste recycling plant that were three times as high as China's current standard.
"The results corroborate our own data and prove that emissions from our battery plant could not be the cause of elevated blood-lead levels found in the community," said Alex Molinaroli, president of Johnson Controls Power Solutions.
The plant suspended production in September after local authorities diagnosed 30 children in the area with lead poisoning.
The plant supplied batteries to Shanghai GM and Shanghai Volkswagen. Johnson Controls said the factory will resume operations in January.
