As the last of the measures to rid the Three Gorges dam area of
mice, workers began on Monday to spread 120 tons of a deadly drug
throughout demolished areas and newly-built resettlements.
According to medical workers, the drug, containing ingredients
known to have a curing effect on human heart disease, will "put
mice to sleep" and would therefore have no negative impact on the
environment.
Next June, the water level in the dam of the world's largest
hydro-power project is expected to reach 135 meters, a fact which
has drawn intense media attention to the environmental questions
surrounding the Three Gorges project.
Feng Shaoquan, a mousing expert at the Chongqing Municipal Disease
Control Center, said that over the next seven days, trained
sanitary clearance staff would continue to scatter the drug and
remove the dead mice, which will later be cremated and buried far
from the dam area.
The total amount of raticide used at Three Gorges will reach 200
tons, Feng said.
The drug was purchased through a nationwide bidding process. The
winner, Shenyang Aiwei Co., said that the drug, which consists of
rice soaked with the raticide, will have only a very minor
environmental impact.
Had this measure not been taken, the mice would relocate to dry
ground once the dam begins to store water. They would even follow
residents to their new homes located dozens of kilometers away,
Feng said.
Last October, relevant departments began providing training to more
than 800 disease control staff and 5,000 clearance workers.
(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2002)