HEFEI, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese pharmaceutical company has been ordered to pay hefty compensation for dumping toxic chemical waste in rural areas.

    Environmental watchdogs of Anhui and Zhejiang provinces issued the decision after a meeting.

    Zhejiang Puluodebang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., based in neighboring Zhejiang Province, has been ordered to pay 2.2 million yuan (322,000 U.S. dollars) to two counties in Anhui, where water and soil was polluted by the waste.

    An investigation by the environment authorities found the chemical waste contained in more than 1,000 barrels was dumped in roadside ditches and a pool in Woyang and Lixin counties. Some of the waste has spilled.

    Environment workers found a 10-km section of the Fuwo River running through Xinli County has been polluted by the waste.

    Test results showed the toxic ingredients were methylene dichloride, methanol and methane, which damage the central nervous system.

    No deaths or illness had been reported in connection with the pollution.

    Police have detained six men suspected to be involved in the dumping.

    A detained garbage dealer surnamed Yang, from Ruji Town of Xinli County, Anhui, said he had been contracted to dispose of the waste by a local man surnamed Ren, who told him the waste came from the pharmaceutical company in Dongyang City in Zhejiang.

    Yang hired four local men to dump the waste.

    The pharmaceutical company admitted that it entrusted a chemical plant to dispose of the chemical waste. However, the owner of the plant had disappeared after media reported the waste dumping.

    Environmental authorities in both provinces held the pharmaceutical company responsible for the environmental damage caused by the dumping.

    The environmental protection bureau in Anhui launched the investigation after local people reported the pollution in December last year.

    More than 1,000 local people were mobilized to collect the 395 tonnes of waste and polluted soil in Woyang and Lixin counties, said the spokesman.

    A recent water sample test showed the quality of the river water had basically returned to normal, said an official with the Anhui Provincial Environment Monitoring and Supervision Bureau.