Jiamusi prepared as slick crawls closer
By Li Fangchao (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-07 06:11

JIAMUSI, Heilongjiang Province: Life in this northeastern city appeared normal yesterday morning, despite the impending arrival of a toxic slick containing benzene and derivatives in the Songhua River.

Staff members of the local environment protection bureau collected water samples once every two hours at a checking station 10 kilometres upstream of the city.

No traces of benzene or nitrobenzene were found until 3 pm yesterday, Meng Xianxian, with the Heilongjiang Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau, told China Daily.

As ice on the river was about 40 centimetres thick, they had to break up the surface using electric drills to get water samples.

The slick was flowing at a very low speed, less than one kilometre per hour at certain points, Meng said.

He estimated the slick would reach the city area tomorrow.

Local residents, however, were not worried about the impending slick. A taxi driver surnamed Li said " I have not stockpiled any water at home, as the government has promised not to suspend water supply."

The city's new water plant has been operating well since it began to supply water on Monday, said Dong Kun, a spokeswoman for the local government.

The plant was built as an alternative or back-up water source.

The city mainly relies on underground water as its water source. But its biggest No 7 Water Plant, which contributes 70 per cent of water supply, has reduced production because part of its water comes from wells near the Songhua.

Meanwhile, a group of experts from the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces discussed yesterday how to evaluate the impact of the severe pollution and how to restore the ecology of the Songhua in Harbin, the provincial capital.

The pollution forced Harbin to suspend its water supply for 4 days.

Zhou Shengxian, the newly appointed director of SEPA, went to Fuyuan County yesterday for an inspection and discussed measures to deal with the upcoming pollution in the Heilong River (called Amur in Russia), which the Songhua joins.

Premier Wen Jiabao has written to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov about the pollution, pledging to further enhance co-operation with the Russian side to reduce damage.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference yesterday that in the letter, sent on December 4, Wen underscored the importance to the health and safety of the people of both nations in protecting cross-border water resources.

The pollution spill was caused by an explosion at a chemical plant on November 13 in Jilin Province. It is estimated that about 100 tons of benzene had spilled into the river.

China and Russia started jointly monitoring the pollution slick in the Heilong River last Friday.

(China Daily 12/07/2005 page2)