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More Chinese cities prepare for toxic water
Last Updated Sat, 03 Dec 2005 08:44:51 EST
CBC News
Four more cities in northeastern China were preparing to suspend running water after a major chemical spill last month, officials said Saturday.
Tangyuan, Huachuan, Fujin and Tongjiang were expecting the slick of benzene to arrive in the next few days.
Jiamusi, home to 480,000 people, was also expecting the spill later in the week, and as a precaution, shut off its taps on Friday. Authorities ordered nearby villages to stop using water from shallow wells on the river bank.
Benzene flooded into the Songhua River when a chemical plant blew up in the city of Jilin on Nov. 13. The explosion killed five people and forced 10,000 others to flee, but local authorities didn't announce the benzene leak until a week later.
The spill prompted the industrial centre of Harbin to suspend running water for 3.8 million people for five days after the toxic slick polluted the water supply.
Russian authorities expect the slick to cross the border Dec. 10 or 11, and three days later to reach Khabarovsk, the largest Russian city in the spill's path and home to 580,000 people.
Local authorities plan to suspend running water in Khabarovsk if toxin levels are deemed dangerous. The spill is expected to take about five days to pass through Khabarovsk.
Benzene poisoning can cause kidney and liver damage, anemia and other blood disorders. Chronic exposure has been linked to cancer.
Scientists expect the Songhua River could take more than 10 years to flush out the pollutants.
Last Updated Sat, 03 Dec 2005 08:44:51 EST
CBC News
Four more cities in northeastern China were preparing to suspend running water after a major chemical spill last month, officials said Saturday.
Tangyuan, Huachuan, Fujin and Tongjiang were expecting the slick of benzene to arrive in the next few days.
Jiamusi, home to 480,000 people, was also expecting the spill later in the week, and as a precaution, shut off its taps on Friday. Authorities ordered nearby villages to stop using water from shallow wells on the river bank.
Benzene flooded into the Songhua River when a chemical plant blew up in the city of Jilin on Nov. 13. The explosion killed five people and forced 10,000 others to flee, but local authorities didn't announce the benzene leak until a week later.
The spill prompted the industrial centre of Harbin to suspend running water for 3.8 million people for five days after the toxic slick polluted the water supply.
Russian authorities expect the slick to cross the border Dec. 10 or 11, and three days later to reach Khabarovsk, the largest Russian city in the spill's path and home to 580,000 people.
Local authorities plan to suspend running water in Khabarovsk if toxin levels are deemed dangerous. The spill is expected to take about five days to pass through Khabarovsk.
Benzene poisoning can cause kidney and liver damage, anemia and other blood disorders. Chronic exposure has been linked to cancer.
Scientists expect the Songhua River could take more than 10 years to flush out the pollutants.
