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BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- A chemical plant
of Jilin Petrochemical Company under China National Petroleum Corp. should be
held responsible for the pollution of Songhua River, said Zhang Lijun, deputy
director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, at a press
conference here Thursday.
The chemical plant experienced an explosion on Nov.
13.
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| Zhang Lijun, deputy director of the State
Environmental Protection Administration answered questions at the press
conference in Beijing, Nov. 24, 2005. (Photo:
Xinhua) |
Sino-Russia
cooperation
China will keep Russia informed on the conditions of Songhua River pollution
after the polluted water passes Harbin, Zhang said.
"The two sides are making specific arrangements for
opening a hotline for the matter," he said.
Zhang said the polluted water in the Songhua River is
expected to flow into the Heilongjiang River (called Amur River in Russia) on
the Sino-Russian border in around 14 days judging from the current flow speed.
He said the Chinese government has already briefed
the Russian side on the pollution accident.
"During his meeting with the Russian ambassador to
China this morning, director of the administration Xie Zhenhua made a detailed
introduction of the entire incident," said Zhang.
Enditem
CNPC apologizes
HARBIN, Nov. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Deputy general manager of China National
Petroleum Corp.(CNPC) Zeng Yukang expressed his sincere sympathy and deep
apologies to the residents of northeast China's Heilongjiang province, for the
pollution of the Songhua River caused by the blast in a chemical plant under the
CNPC Jilin Petrochemical Company.
Zeng, who is also director of Daqing Petroleum
Administration Bureau, came to Harbin on Wednesday, heading a drilling crew
whichis to dig 100 deep groundwater wells for universities and collegesas well
as water and heat suppliers in the city.
He made an apology on behalf of the CNPC to residents
along the Songhua River on the pollution of the major city water source, saying
that it is CNPC's duty to help treat the pollution, according to the city
government of Harbin on Thursday.
The blast took place at about 1:45 p.m. on Nov. 13 in
a workshop of the No. 101 Chemical Plant under the CNPC Jilin Petrochemical
Company based in Jilin City, some 100 km east to Changchun, the provincial
capital. Five people were killed and about 70 people were
injured. Enditem
Jilin Province
apologizes
HARBIN, Nov. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Vice-governor of Jilin
Province Jiao Zhengzhong expressed his sincere sympathy and deep apologies to
residents of Harbin, capital of neighboring Heilongjiang Province, northeast
China, for the pollution of the Songhua River caused by blast in a chemical
plant in Jilin.
Jiao, who is also secretary of the Communist Party of
China (CPC) Committee of Jilin City, where the blast took place, came to Harbin
to discuss ways to treat the pollution on Wednesday and make an apology to
Harbin residents on the pollution of the Songhua River, a major city water
source, according to the city government of Harbin on Thursday.
The blast took place at about 1:45 p.m. on Nov. 13 in
a workshop of the No. 101 Chemical Plant under the CNPC Jilin Petrochemical
Company based in Jilin City, some 100 km east to Changchun, the provincial
capital. Five people were killed and about 70 people were injured.
Jilin provincial and Jilin city governments
immediately closed the pipelines that caused the pollution.
"People of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces shared
water source from the same Songhua River and it was the obligatory duty of the
two provinces to safeguard the mother river," said Shi Zhongxin, deputy
secretary of the Harbin city CPC committee and mayor of Harbin.
Shi said the Harbin city government had informed
local residents of the pollution situation and took emergency measures to deal
with the pollution. Enditem
Toxic water reaches Harbin
HARBIN, Nov. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The front of the
polluted water of Songhua River in northeast China reached Harbin, capital of
Heilongjiang Province, on early Thursday morning, local environment authority
said.
The toxic benzene-contaminated water, flowing down
from the upper reaches of Songhua, arrived at the local water supply inlet at
about 5 a.m., and has now entered river sections across the city's urban areas,
according to the Heilongjiang provincial environment protection bureau.
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| The State Environment Protection
Administration confirmed Wednesday that pollutants containing benzene and
nitrobenzene contaminated the Songhua River after a chemical-plant blast
at the upper reaches in Northeast China.
[newsphoto] |
Since the river was contaminated in a chemical plant
explosion in the neighboring Jilin Province on November 13, the benzene and
nitrobenzene density in the water is declining gradually after days of
sedimentation and adsorption, and the Harbin city government has added a large
amount of active carbon powders into the river to help clean up the water.
Harbin, home to nine million population including 3.8
million in the urban districts, has cut off water supply in the urban areas
since early Wednesday, an emergency action taken to ensure public safety.
The operation of the city's water supply system was
temporarily resumed on Wednesday afternoon following a forecast by China's State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) that the polluted water will not
reach the city until Thursday.
The SEPA confirmed the "major pollution" of the Songhua River on Wednesday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in Beijing on Thursday that China has informed Russia of the water pollution situation in the river, a tributary of the Heilong River (called Amur River in Russia) on the border between the Russian far east and China. Enditem
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