China's top environment watchdog confirmed on Saturday that pollution levels
did not rise during the spring ice thaw of the Songhua and Heilong rivers, which
were heavily polluted last November after a severe chemical spill.
Polluted water in
Songhua River reaches Harbin, the capital of northeastern Heilongjiang
province November 24, 2005. [Reuters]
|
Benzene-related chemicals, which were the main pollutants of the spill,
remain at a safe level in the Songhua River in Northeast China and the Heilong
River, the border river between China and Russia, during the spring thawing
period, according to a statement released by the State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA).
Non-stop surveillance work conducted on a daily basis by environment workers
from Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces shows that water quality in the two rivers
is steady and no pollution has occurred, according to the statement.
Both rivers have now thawed, but the benzene, nitrobenzene and aniline levels
of the two rivers do not exceed the national standards of both China and Russia,
the SEPA statement said.
The Songhua River, a tributary of the Heilong River, which is also called the
Amur River in Russia, was heavily polluted after an explosion upstream at a
chemical plant on November 13 in Jilin City, capital of Jilin Province.
The incident caused some 100 tons of benzene-related chemicals to spill into
the river, endangering the water supply for millions of residents along the
river and forcing many cities to suspend water supply.
Since then, Chinese environmental protection departments have been closely
monitoring changes in the water quality of the two rivers. China and Russia have
also conducted several joint monitoring exercises.
From March 4 to 22, both Chinese and Russian monitoring teams took samples of
water, ice and silt from different sections of the rivers and found that
pollutants did not exceed the national standards of the two countries, according
to the statement.
"At present, China and Russia are discussing how to enhance environmental
protection along the rivers bordering the two countries," the statement said.
The Songhua River has been listed as one of the country's most heavily
polluted rivers in need of urgent intervention.
In March, the State Council approved a programme to curb its pollution from
2006 to 2010.
Xinhua - China Daily
(China Daily 05/08/2006 page2)