China Plans Riverside Checks After Toxic Spill
Date: 09-Dec-05
Country: CHINA
The accident sent 100 tonnes of cancer-causing benzene compounds pouring into the Songhua river, and meant taps were turned off for nearly a week in the downstream city of Harbin which is home to around 9 million people.
"Big or medium-sized enterprises located along major rivers or their tributaries, especially the chemical plants at the upper reaches of drinking water sources, are major inspection spots," the report quoted an emergency circular issued by SEPA saying.
Inspection teams sent to 10 provinces are expected to wrap up their work by the end of next month.
Local governments were also ordered to draw up an emergency plan by the end of this year for shutting down plants with excessive effluent and factories that fail to improve environmental safety conditions, Xinhua said.
The toxic slick, tens of kilometres long, is now winding its way northeast towards the Russian city of Khabarovsk through areas populated by millions of Chinese, but cold weather is freezing the river which has slowed its progress.
President Hu Jintao on Thursday told visiting Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that China would do its utmost to minimize the impact of the pollution.
The government has also vowed to come down hard on those responsible for the blast, and Xie Zhenhua, the chief of SEPA, resigned last week because of its failure to address the crisis, state media said.