East china's Shandong Province has lifted the pollution alarm on the Yellow River, China's second longest, as a diesel slick has flowed out into the sea.

The Shandong provincial government also decided on Saturday to end the ban on getting drinking from the formerly polluted section of the tainted Yellow River.

Tests by the provincial emergency response team showed that the 100-kilometer-long pollution slick caused by diesel leakage had totally flown into the Bohai Sea as of Friday.

A diesel oil leak occurred on January 5 at a power plant in Gongyi, central China's Henan Province, discharging six tons of oil into the Yellow River's mainstream.

The pollution slick entered Shandong Province on January 7.

The provincial government closed all sluice gates along the river to guarantee the safety of drinking water for local people.

The closure did not have much impact on people's lives but did affect industrial production in some places.

Experts said that the pollution did not have much impact on the ecology of the river or on fish and shrimp that usually live near the bottom in winter.

The provincial fisheries bureau said the pollution also had little effect on the sea water near the estuary. Tests showed the oil content only slightly higher than the standard.

Meantime, Sichuan provincial authorities planned to ensure water safety for 8 million rural people by the end of 2010.

Peng shuming, director of the provincial water resources bureau, said that Sichuan will ensure water safety by protecting water sources in the next five years.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2006)