A tributary of the Songhua River which runs through the city of
Jilin, in northeast China's Jilin Province, the Mangniu River was reported
Monday to have been polluted when contaminating substances were
illegally discharged by a chemical company. The incident was
brought under control Wednesday said the local environmental
protection bureau.
Experts arriving at the scene were met by the sight of a
five-kilometer-long slick of bubbly, red water. The city government
launched emergency plans and officials from the State Environmental
Protection Administration, the Jilin provincial government and the
local environmental protection bureau attended and put in place
pollution control measures.?
More than 1,000 army personnel and fire fighters built an
interception dam and two barriers made of activated carbon which
absorbs pollutants. Through filtration the stretch of polluted
water was cleaned.?
No pollutants have so far been detected in the Songhua River
according to the city's environmental protection bureau.
Preliminary investigations indicate the pollutants were illegally
discharged by the Changbaishan Jingxi Chemical Company and those
responsible have been detained.
(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2006)
