The river pollution caused by a chemical plant blast in
southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has been cleared up
without signs of diffusion, according to local environmental
authorities on Thursday.
Downstream water quality has met national standards and the ban
on collecting river water has been lifted, according to Chongqing
Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.
"Local villagers are now allowed to fetch and use water from the
river," a bureau official was quoted as saying by Xinhua News
Agency today.
The pollution was caused by a blast at a chemical plant in
Dianjiang County on November 24, and warnings of benzene
contamination were placed along the banks of the Guixi River in
Xinmin Township. The explosion killed one person and injured four
others.
Yesterday morning, there was another blast at a chemical plant
in Jiangdu in east China's Jiangsu Province when a tank containing
eight tons of acrylonitrile exploded.
No death or injuries were reported and an investigation into the
cause of the incident is underway.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily December 2, 2005)
