A top environmental official urged on Wednesday redoubled efforts to confine Songhua River pollution within the country's boundary and minimize the loss and impact.

Xie Zhenhua, director of the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), said at a meeting on Wednesday that the pollution event is closely related to water-drinking safety of both Chinese and Russian people along the river.

"Relevant departments must take effective measures to monitor and control the pollution and to assess and recover the ecology, with the responsibility for the Chinese and Russian people and the ecology," he said.

A chemical plant explosion in northeast China's Jilin City of Jilin Province two weeks ago severely polluted nearby Songhua River, forcing Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province downstream, to cut off the water supply to its 3.8 million residents for four days.

The pollution slick is moving towards Heilongjiang, bordering China and Russia.

According to experts' suggestions, Xie asked the local governments to reduce the pollution's concentration and restrict the pollution in China.

Xie also called for efforts to keep Russia informed of the conditions of the Songhua River pollution.

The SEPA on Tuesday provided the Russian Embassy to China with a list of pollutants in Songhua River, according to source from SEPA.

(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2005)