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Chemical spill in river cleaned up
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-04-01 00:59 The water supply has returned
to normal in three residential areas of the densely populated Sichuan Province
in Southwest China after a month-long battle to dilute chemicals that leaked
into the Tuojiang River.
The river is the sole water source in those areas.
More than 1 million people were left without potable water after a
combination of synthetic ammonia and nitrogen from the No 2 Chemical Fertilizer
Plant under the Sichuan General Chemical Group leaked into the river, said the
provincial Environmental Protection Bureau.
The density of ammonia and nitrogen in the affected section of the river was
152 times higher than the national standard when the serious leakage was
reported late last month.
The Tuojiang River feeds into China's main shipping artery, the Yangtze
River.
The State-owned plant, a major taxpayer, was shut down on March 2.
On the same day, local authorities shut down water supplies.
The tap water had turned to a yellowish-black colour, smelled badly and
caused skin irritation.
"Look at my skin, there are so many swellings on my arms and legs. They are
all caused by the polluted water," a local newspaper quoted Li Xusheng, a nurse
with the People's Hospital in Jianyang city as saying.
During the past few weeks, more than 1 million people in the afflicted
counties and cities -- Jianyang, Zizhong and Neijiang -- had to wait in line for
several hours to get clean water pumped from wells.
Local and provincial governments also mobilized hundreds of water tanks to
fetch drinking water from other regions day and night.
The serious pollution killed about 500,000 kilograms of fish in the river and
the direct economic loss is estimated to have surpassed 100 million yuan (US$12
million), said the local environmental protection bureau.
"I have never seen or even dreamed that so large amount of fish could jump
out of the Tuojiang River and died," said Zhou Changchun, a villager in the
Xingguang Village near Jianyang.
Zhou said it was common to see dead fish floating on the surface of the river
every winter when pollution became serious and in early spring when water levels
in the river dropped.
"But the pollution is the worst this time," said Zhou.
After a preliminary investigation, officials found that an equipment
breakdown at the chemical plant led to the spill, according to a survey report
from the bureau.
The plant upgraded its equipment late last year, but a trial operation in
January proved that the new equipment, treating the chemical wastes with a high
concentration of synthetic ammonia and nitrogen, was not functioning properly.
However, the machine was still put into operation on February 11 without any
repair work.
According to the report, that led to the chemical waste being directly dumped
into the Tuojiang River.
Liu Xiaofeng, vice-governor of the province, said factory employees and
officials involved will receive heavy punishments according to laws and
regulations.
There are also ongoing discussions about compensation levels for the
afflicted areas, said Liu during a provincial environmental protection
conference held on Sunday.
Provincial water resource authorities have opened six reservoirs stationed at
the river to allow fresh water to flow since March 9 in order to clean up and
dilute the river.
To date, the density of ammonia and nitrogen has been lowered considerably
while the diluted chemicals have drifted more than 100 kilometres.
Now the three counties and cities at the pollution site can again draw water
from the river and the chemicals down at the lower reaches do not pose a serious
threat to residents living there, said the bureau.
In wake of the serious pollution of Tuojiang River, the province has launched
a thorough inspection along the river, and in another two rivers -- Minjiang
River and Jialing River -- that are also the tributaries to the Yangtze River.
Operation will be suspended in all the factories along the rivers that do not
meet environmental standards by April 15, said the vice-governor.
Sichuan Province is one the provinces that introduced a new pilot project
last year to rank the performance of local officials by linking it with their
efforts to protect the environment.
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