- An 80km slick of highly toxic water surged down a river
into one of China's biggest cities yesterday, leaving four million people
without running water.
-
- The slick of the carcinogen benzene hit the outskirts
of Harbin, capital of China's north-eastern Heilongjiang province, in the
early hours.
-
- The water became contaminated after an explosion at a
PetroChina factory in neighbouring Jilin province, about 380km upstream
on Songhua River.
-
- The Government only acknowledged the environmental disaster
yesterday after days of rumours, which led to panic buying and hoarding
of water and food supplies in Harbin.
-
- Because the water does not look dangerous, there were
concerns people upstream would not have known there was anything wrong
with the water. Of particular concern are farmers and people living in
between the cities who would normally use the river water for irrigation,
for washing, for drinking, eating and making food.
-
- Health officials warn ingesting benzene in high levels
could cause leukemia.
-
- The Government yesterday urged the city's residents to
remain calm.
-
- "We must find solutions for the people's basic need
for water . . . the supply of water is directly linked to the
basic health interests of everyone," Heilongjiang's leader, Song Fatang,
said.
-
- "We must ensure that the emotions of the people
are stable, that the supply and demand of the city's markets are stable
and we must actively respond to any problems that may occur."
-
- The provincial government has told Harbin residents to
stay away from the river to avoid possible exposure to airborne contaminants.
-
- The State Environmental Protection Administration said
the polluted water contained benzene nearly 30 times the level considered
safe.
-
- Benzene is an industrial solvent and component of petrol,
and causes health problems when taken in even small doses.
-
- At the same time, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao chaired
a government meeting on pollution problems in the country.
-
- "Our country's environmental situation remains grim,"
the State Council declared.
-
- "As the economy has expanded, waste of resources
and energy has continued growing, and the pressures on environmental protection
are increasingly heavy."
-
- Feelings among Harbin residents seemed to be shifting
from panic to anxious resignation and anger.
-
- Most shops and restaurants remained open, although business
was slow, with many residents converging on train and bus stations in the
past two days to get out of the city.
-
- Provincial governor Zhang Zuoji promised to be the first
person to drink tap water when supplies were restored.
-
- "After four days, I'll have the first drop,"
he said.
-
- http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_pag
e/0,5478,17353231%255E663,00.html
- China Warns Russia Of Toxic River Pollutants
-
- Bangkok Post
- 11-25-5
-
- Beijing (dpa) - China warned Russia of an environmental
disaster flowing in its direction in the form of high-level pollutants
in the Songhua River as the 80-km toxic swath arrived in a provincial northeastern
capital city of 3.8 million.
-
- Russia expressed appreciation of China's information,
said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. He added that China will
further strengthen the monitoring of the spill and the level of pollutants
in the river, called the Amur across the border in Russia.
-
- An 80-kilometre stretch of the river was contaminated
by benzene after explosions at a petrochemical plant November 13 in Jilin.
-
- The toxic belt on Thursday reached Harbin, the capital
of Heilongjiang province, and the water supply has been suspended for at
least four days there.
-
- Officials shut off the water supply on Wednesday out
of fear of poisonings, triggering panic buying of bottled water and soft
drinks.
-
- Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, another
explosion at a chemical plant was reported that also sent benzene into
a nearby stream.
-
- At least one person died and three were injured in the
blast at the plant run by the Yingte Chemical Co. in Dianjiang county in
southwestern Chongqing municipality, Xinhua quoted local officials as saying.
-
- Warnings of benzene contamination were placed along the
stream, which runs towards Dianjiang county town, about eight kilometres
away.
-
- A build-up of hydrogen peroxide was believed to have
caused the latest blast.
-
- On the Songhua River, a cleanup effort was under way.
Officials were calling for large quantities of active carbon. Up to 1,400
tons are needed but only 700 tons are available, said the Heilongjiang
government, according to Xinhua news agency.
-
- The Chinese Foreign Ministry assured Russia it will keep
them informed of the progress of the spill to enable Russian authorities
to react quickly and timely.
-
- The Harbin city government would use wells and tankers
to supply drinking water, as well as shipping in tankers from neighbouring
regions. New wells have also been drilled.
-
- Not all inhabitants have enough reserves of water to
last through the suspension, Xinhua reported. Other reports said the city
had suspended its public water supply indefinitely.
-
- Benzene is a colourless petrochemical that is used as
a solvent for making plastics and other products. It is carcinogenic if
ingested.
-
- http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=63896
-
|
