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| Chemical spill forces water cutoff |
| News Archive - Environmental, New & Alternative Energy -Nov News | |
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(ShanghaiDaily, Nov 30, 2006) A CENTRAL China's city suspended water supply for more than 30,000 residents on Tuesday after waste water containing toxic chemicals was discharged into the Yangtze River. On Tuesday morning, a para benzoquinone workshop of a chemical company in Zhijiang City, Hubei Province, caught fire, a Hubei newspaper reported. As firefighters were extinguishing the blaze, water containing toxic chemicals seeped into the city's sewage pipeline network and was discharged into the Yangtze River, local environment authorities found. The company said about half of the six tons of para benzoquinone that had been stored in the workshop were lost after the fire. Local authorities immediately ordered water plants out of service in the city's Jiangkou and Qixingtai districts, which are downstream area of the sewage outfall. They notified people living along the river not to drink the river's water. The authorities also set up monitoring posts along the river 10 kilometers from the outfall downstream to sample the water. The water supply cut affected more than 30,000 local residents. At noon, local water supply stations briefly diverted water from a reservoir to resume water supply to schools. The city's water supply returned to normal about 6:30pm on Tuesday. Local authorities have not received any reports that people or livestock were poisoned. source:ShanghaiDaily |
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