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HIGH POINT, N.C. (WWAY) — The toxic pollution watchdog, Center for Environmental Health, claimed today that companies have been importing thousands of pounds of a cancer-causing chemical from China without reporting it to the EPA, as is required by law.

The watchdog group says Hongda Group, headquartered in High Point, failed to inform the EPA about the import of more than 100,000 pounds of the hazardous chemical anthraquinone. Anthraquinone is toxic to aquatic animals and is a known carcinogen. Under the EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), these kinds of chemical imports must be reported to the agency every four years.

The group says, “Hongda hid the truth from regulators and endangered the health of North Carolinians.”

Last year, Hongda lost a $27.8 million judgment resulting from complaints filed by a Chinese chemical manufacturer for failing to pay what it owed for importing another toxic chemical and also secretly importing it from other suppliers.

The EPA’s newest chemical import report will be made public next month: November 2020.