The latest sample examination has indicated the quality of water has become normal at some places of the road-accident-polluted Luojiang and Jianjiang rivers in western Guangdong Province, south China.

The sample obtained at 16:00 Saturday showed the river water did not contain benzene and the water company was likely to resume supply on the night, said officials with the Environmental Protection Administration in Huazhou City on the lower reaches of the rivers.

Water supply was restarted in Wuchuan, another affected city in Guangdong, at 21:00 Friday.

The quality of water was good, said Chen Tiebao, head of Wuchuan City Environmental Protection Administration.

A tank truck loaded with some 40 tons of benzene turned over early Wednesday morning in Beiliu City in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and part of the toxic liquid spilled into the nearby Lingjiang River and affected the Luojiang and Jianjiang rivers on the lower reaches in Guangdong.

The local governments immediately evacuated some 2,000 residents and warned people not to take water from the rivers any more.

None was reported affected by the spill so far.

Environmental administrations were required to get samples from the rivers and carry out a 24-hour monitoring on the rivers.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2004)