Discharge turns Yellow River red
(Agencies/Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-24 09:57 A kilometer-long section of
China's Yellow River has turned "red and smelly" in Lanzhou, a city of two
million and the capital of the northwest's Gansu Province.
It wasn't immediately clear what was tainting the river, the country's second
longest.
Residents were alarmed to see a sewage pipe pouring red water into the river
on Sunday between 3pm and 6pm, according to media reports.
Environmental protection officials took samples and were trying to determine
whether the sewage was toxic.
A photo in a local paper showed a resident by a stretch of the river - a
drinking water source for millions - that was rose-colored instead of the usual
milky brown. Other photos showed patches of bright red and pink.
An official from the Yellow River Water Resource Committee in Lanzhou
confirmed the pollution. He said the committee was still analyzing the sample
and had not determined what caused it.
Kang Mingke, an official with the city's environment protection bureau, said
test results would determine what the red discharge was and whether it was
detrimental to the river's ecology. He said yesterday morning the test results
were not yet available.
Kang said the red water could be from central heating systems, as there are
no chemical plants located nearby.
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