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Chinese Official Confirms Chemical Plant Blast Causes Severe Pollution

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Text of report by Wang Jingzhong by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Asia-Pacific service

Beijing, 23 November: A concerned official of the State Environmental Protection Administration notified the media on 23 November that a major water pollution incident occurred on the Songhua River because of an accidental explosion at China National Petroleum Corporation's Jilin Petrochemical Corporation, and that the people's governments of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces have activated their environmental incident emergency response plans and taken measures to ensure the safety of the public's drinking water.

The official said that after the accidental explosion at CNPC's Jilin Petrochemical Corporation, monitoring and measurements discovered that benzene-type pollutants had flowed into the Songhua River, causing water pollution. Benzene-type pollutants are organic compounds which are harmful to people's health. On receipt of a report, the State Environmental Protection Administration took the matter very seriously and immediately sent experts hurrying to the scene in Heilongjiang to assist the local government with pollution control efforts. Officials are monitoring and measuring developments every hour, and closely watching for any change in water quality in the Songhua River.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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