Five hundred and fifty thousand residents in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province are now being affected by contaminated drinking water.

On Saturday evening, a tanker carrying 31 tons of phenol crashed, leaving 20 tons of the toxic substance to spill into Xin'an River, the water source of Hangzhou. Phenol, also known as Carbolic acid requires careful handling as it can cause burns to naked skin and is used in plastics like Bakelite. Local water companies are surveying the water quality of the river and will restore tap supplies as the water is safe.