China : chemical blast polluted major river

A chemical plant explosion has severely polluted one of China's biggest rivers, causing water supplies to be cut for millions of people and sparking pollution fears in neighbouring Russia. The explosion at a PetroChina factory in the northeastern province of Jilin led to an outpouring of the carcinogen benzene into the 1,897-kilometre-long (1,176-mile) Songhua river, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said.

"After the blast at the chemical plant the monitoring station in Jilin found that benzene went into the river and polluted the water," the EPA said in a statement on its website. "Benzene levels were 108 times above national safety levels." The announcement came 10 days after the November 13 explosion and followed repeated denials from government officials that there had been any major environmental impact.

In Harbin, the capital of neighbouring Heilongjiang province about 380 kilometres downstream from the blast site, water supplies were cut off at midnight on Tuesday over the pollution fears, the local government said. The Songhua is the main source of drinking water for more than three million urban residents of Harbin, which has a total population of about nine million and is one of China's biggest cities.

(2005-11-24 11:08:41 SGT) [Env] Permalink

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