Environmental authorities of China and Russia finished taking
samples from border rivers for quality tests on Wednesday in the
first national-level joint operation since 2005.
Environmental experts from both sides took water samples from
the Heilongjiang, Wusuli and Suifen rivers and Xingkai Lake.
They would analyze the samples separately and compare the
results, said the Heilongjiang Provincial Bureau of Environmental
Protection.
Experts will examine chemical oxygen demand, contents of heavy
metals, benzene, and pesticides, riverbed mud, and other indices to
determine water quality.
It is the first joint operation since China and Russia signed
the Joint Monitoring Plan on Border Rivers in 2006, after an
accident at a Chinese chemicals plant sent nitrobenzene and other
chemicals into the Songhua River that flows into the Heilongjiang
River in 2005.
The contamination forced Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang
Province in China's northeast, to temporarily stop water supplies
to 3.8 million people.
The plan requires both sides to operate the testing program for
five years from 2007. In the first year, environmental departments
will carry out two tests. The second is expected to be held in
August.
Heilongjiang Province and Russia's Khabarovsk have been
conducting border river monitoring since 2002 in an effort to
ensure water quality and improve environmental protection.
(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2007)
