China Apologizes To Russia Over Toxic Benzene Spill

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Local residents collect water on the outskirt of the Siberian town of Khabarovsk, 27 November 2005. China has apologized to Russia over a toxic belt of benzene flowing down river toward Siberia and has pledged to inform its neighbor of pollution levels, state press said. Russia has expressed fears that the contaminated water would soon flow into the Amur river, which forms the border between the two countries, but authorities said there would be plenty of advance notice and plenty of fresh water on hand when the poison slick arrived. AFP photo by Yuri Tutov.

Beijing (AFP) Nov 27, 2005
China has apologized to Russia over a toxic belt of benzene flowing down river toward Siberia and has pledged to inform its neighbor of pollution levels, state press said Sunday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing informed Russian ambassador Sergei Razov about the pollution situation along the Songhua river in northeastern Heilongjiang province and expressed regret over any damage that may be done when the toxic slick enters Russia, Xinhua news agency said.

"On behalf of the Chinese government, I express regret over the possible harms to be done to the Russian people by the major environmental pollution accident," Li was quoted as telling Razov on Saturday.

"China fully understands and attaches great importance to the concerns of the Russian side."

The environmental disaster began when some 100 tons of benzene was dumped into the river after a huge explosion at a chemical plant on November 13 in Jilin province, nearly 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) up river from China's border with Russia.

The calamity has been widely seen as a reflection of China's dismal environmental situation, which has been largely ignored during 25 years of fast-paced economic growth.

The disaster resulted in authorities cutting off public water supplies to

3. 8 million residents of Harbin city. Those taps were opened again Sunday however and residents were due to receiving running water the same day.

Russia has shipped extra stocks of purified water to the eastern city of Khabarovsk which lies downstream from the toxic spill and taken steps to avert public health problems for people living in the region, but officials said Sunday that tests showed the water supply was so far unaffected.

Oleg Mitvol, an official with the Khabarovsk regional emergency situations department, said tests showed no increase in river water toxin levels while the city's water purification facilities were functioning normally, Interfax news agency reported.

A rush on purchases of bottled drinking water had subsided and the city was awaiting delivery expected Monday of a supplementary 20 tons of charcoal for use in water treatment plants in the area, he said.

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70% Of Rivers, Lakes Polluted In China

Nanchang (XNA) Nov 24, 2005
China has 70 percent of its rivers contaminated and 75 percent over-enriched, according to information from a symposium in east China's Jiangxi Province Wednesday.