Transportation of Fenhe River Bridge is resumed in Sanlin Township of Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province, Jan. 20, 2017. Most of the benzene from a tanker that plunged into a river in north China's Shanxi Province on Wednesday has been retrieved, local authorities said Friday. As of 2 p.m. on Friday, 24.34 tonnes of crude benzene had been retrieved after processing and filtration, according to Yuncheng City press center. (Xinhua/Zhan Yan)
TAIYUAN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Most of the benzene from a tanker that plunged into a river in north China's Shanxi Province on Wednesday has been retrieved, local authorities said Friday.
As of 2 p.m. on Friday, 24.34 tonnes of crude benzene had been retrieved after processing and filtration, according to Yuncheng City press center.
Benzene is a colorless compound used to manufacture plastics. It is known to damage blood production in humans.
The tanker, which was carrying 28.66 tonnes of the highly hazardous crude material, crashed through the guard rails of a bridge and plunged into the Fenhe River, a tributary of the Yellow River, in Xinjiang County, Yuncheng City, after colliding with a bus on the bridge around 9 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the city government.
Two people in the truck were killed in the accident.
The tank was pulled ashore Thursday afternoon after the benzene inside was transferred into another tank, removing a potential major pollution source for the counties downstream, the city government said.
The local environmental protection authorities said that as of Friday morning, the concentration of benzene in the downstream of the accident had been reduced.
Local authorities in three counties downstream have built 31 lines of defence with activated carbon to absorb leaked benzene and prevented the water from flowing into the Yellow River, the second longest river in China.
