Local authorities said that there have been no reports of
poisoning in Yueyang County, Hunan Province, after a major drinking water
source was contaminated with arsenide on Friday.?
Water has been released from reservoirs upstream to help dilute
the pollution in the Xinqiang River. Tap water supplies to about
80,000 residents in the county are expected to resume by Tuesday,
Tong Kangning, secretary of the Yueyang County Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC)?told Xinhua News Agency
yesterday.
The Xinqiang River was contaminated with arsenide that leaked
from a wastewater pond at a chemical plant 50 kilometers
upstream.
The chemical plant has been shut down, but there are fears that
the wastewater could also pollute Dongting Lake, the country's
second largest freshwater lake and a major drinking water source
for Hunan, which is less than 20 km from Xinqiang, according to
Zhang Zhimin, deputy director of the quick-response center for
emergencies run by the State Environmental Protection Agency.
"Although the lake water is safe to drink, its arsenide content
is higher than normal," Zhang said, adding that the local
environment department has been required to step up monitoring on
the water quality of Dongting Lake.
Local authorities have issued a circular to warn residents
against drinking the tap water. Safe drinking water will be
provided.
According to environmental experts, arsenic trioxide is a very
toxic compound. Symptoms of arsenide poisoning include vomiting and
stomach pains. In severe cases, it could lead to comas and even
death.
The chronic intake of arsenide could damage the liver and
kidneys, and in some cases lead to lung and skin cancer.
China is currently reeling from the effects of countless
environmental disasters. A chemical plant blast in November 2005
dumped 100 tons of benzene into the Songhua River in northeast
China's Heilongjiang Province, affecting water
supplies to millions of people downstream and raising alarms in
neighboring Russia. Since then, there have been no less than 130
other pollution incidents in the Songhua River, an average of one
incident every two or three days.
(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2006)