Pollution by Chinese banana farms affects 500 families in Laos

LAOS, Feb 4 -- Waste run-off and trash from Chinese-owned banana farms are polluting a river in Laos, affecting over 500 families in the country's Oudomxay province that relies on the river water for daily use, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Tuesday.

"The Chinese use a lot of chemicals in their banana farms," a resident of Navang village in the province's Houn district told RFA. "Sometimes their pipes leak, and the waste flows out into the Beng river."