Local authorities said that there have been no reports of poisoning in Yueyang County, Hunan Province, after a major drinking water source was contaminated with arsenide on Friday. 

Water has been released from reservoirs upstream to help dilute the pollution in the Xinqiang River. Tap water supplies to about 80,000 residents in the county are expected to resume by Tuesday, Tong Kangning, secretary of the Yueyang County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) told Xinhua News Agency yesterday.

The Xinqiang River was contaminated with arsenide that leaked from a wastewater pond at a chemical plant 50 kilometers upstream.

The chemical plant has been shut down, but there are fears that the wastewater could also pollute Dongting Lake, the country's second largest freshwater lake and a major drinking water source for Hunan, which is less than 20 km from Xinqiang, according to Zhang Zhimin, deputy director of the quick-response center for emergencies run by the State Environmental Protection Agency.

"Although the lake water is safe to drink, its arsenide content is higher than normal," Zhang said, adding that the local environment department has been required to step up monitoring on the water quality of Dongting Lake.

Local authorities have issued a circular to warn residents against drinking the tap water. Safe drinking water will be provided.

According to environmental experts, arsenic trioxide is a very toxic compound. Symptoms of arsenide poisoning include vomiting and stomach pains. In severe cases, it could lead to comas and even death.

The chronic intake of arsenide could damage the liver and kidneys, and in some cases lead to lung and skin cancer.

China is currently reeling from the effects of countless environmental disasters. A chemical plant blast in November 2005 dumped 100 tons of benzene into the Songhua River in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, affecting water supplies to millions of people downstream and raising alarms in neighboring Russia. Since then, there have been no less than 130 other pollution incidents in the Songhua River, an average of one incident every two or three days.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2006)