RSS Feed
Twitter
Nearly a month after an explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China killed five people and spilled 100 tons of cancer-causing benzene into the Songhua River, the damaging effects of the accident continue to spread. Photo courtesy of Daniel T. Yara
The spill of toxic chemicals on November 13 poisoned the Songhua River, which provides drinking water to millions of people in China and Russia. The nearby city of Harbin was forced to shut off its water supplies to 3.8 million people for about a week shortly after the spill, and several other cities downstream from the spill have also cut their water supplies as toxic chemicals reached them.
The benzene chemical slick on the river, now approximately 90 miles long, is expected to cross the Chinese-Russian border on Tuesday, December 13.
Cold temperatures have slowed the flow of the river and the movement of the chemical slick, but Chinese and Russian officials expect the benzene to reach the Russian city of Khabarovsk next week. Khabarovsk, home to 580,000 people, plans to shut down its river-fed water system for at least three days to avoid contamination.
Responsible Chinese Officials Lose Jobs, Lives
Meanwhile, Chinese officials who were considered responsible for the accident or the subsequent cover up that increased the risks to public health, are not faring well, either.
The director of China's environmental protection agency resigned last week, the general manager of the chemical company blamed for the spill was fired, and a few other officials or managers have lost their jobs. Further, Reuters reported that a vice mayor in charge of evacuating Jilin, the Chinese city where the chemical plant exploded, is believed to have hanged himself.
China Government Vows Punishment for Those Responsible
In a stunning case of political foot-dragging, Beijing has finally acknowledged that officials had tried to cover up the spill. The Chinese government issued a stern warning of punishment for anyone who shared responsibility for the accident or lied to investigators.
"People who are found to have provided false information to investigators will ... be punished severely," said Li Yizhong, director of State Administration of Work Safety, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. "Any move trying to cover up the cause of the accident and any passive attitude toward the probe are deemed deception and a defiance of law."
Li also pledged to prosecute those who were responsible for the spill.
A team of Cabinet-level officials led by Li has been assigned to investigate the spill and will report directly to China’s government leaders, Xinhua reported.
Russians Await Effects of Chemical Spill
Viktor Ishayev, governor of the Khabarovsk region in Russia, said China’s rapid economic growth is creating environmental consequences that Beijing is ignoring, according to a report by the Associated Press.
''Swift economic growth is frequently achieved due to a scornful attitude to ecology," Ishayev said at an emergency meeting. He predicted the benzene spill current headed downstream would adversely affect the Khabarovsk region for a year.
