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A court in Zhejiang Province has upheld a decision to impose fines of 78 million yuan (US$12 million) on three Zhejiang companies that worked together to dispose of 26,000 tons of hazardous waste in rivers.

The Hangzhou Intermediate Court said in a statement on Tuesday that it had upheld the ruling of a lower district court on the Second Chemical Plant of Jiande City, the Hong'an Cargo Company and the Rongsheng Chemical Company.

The Second Chemical Plant mainly produces weed-killer glyphosate.

In 2012 to 2013, it asked the Hong'an Cargo Company and the Rongsheng Chemical Company to help pour waste into rivers in Zhejiang provincial capital Hangzhou, the province's Quzhou City and in Jiangxi and Shandong provinces. Neither of the companies was licensed to dispose of dangerous waste, according to the court.

The Zhejiang environmental protection research institute estimates that as much as 80 million yuan will be needed to repair the damage to the rivers.

Ten suspects, including heads of the three companies, were sentenced to jail terms ranging from nine years to one year and 10 months, and fined a total of 8.5 million yuan.