Cleanup crews have built some 51 dams by Thursday in a north China river to intercept the spill of 60 tons of coal tar amid measures to minimize pollution threat on a downstream water reservoir.

They also trucked cotton batting, sponge and straw to absorb the coal tar in Dasha River, according to local governments of Fanzhi County of Shanxi Province and neighboring Fuping County of Hebei Province.

About 100 tons of activated carbon are now ready to be put into the river to absorb the huge amounts of pollutants, said the local governments, adding more than ten trucks from Hebei are busy carrying polluted water back from upper reaches in Shanxi for further treatment.

The rescue headquarters began on Thursday afternoon to put in place a 15-kilometer-long pipe to carry clean water downstream, in a bid to ensure residents downstream to have access to safe drinking water.

The 51 dams, including 42 in Fanzhi and 9 in Fuping, were built to slow down water flow, so as to win time for treating polluted water. Cleanup crews also dug holes in the ground near the river and diverted spill into them.

Local environmental officials said more work is needed to ensure that the reservoir will not be contaminated.

A truck carrying 60 tons of coal tar overturned at around 5 PM on Monday and spilled its entire load into Dasha river in Fanzhi. The sticky liquid reached Fuping County on the lower reaches by Tuesday morning.

The spill, moving at about one kilometer per hour, is approaching the Wangkuai Reservoir about 70 kilometers from the accident site, officials with the Hebei Provincial Environment Protection Bureau said.

Wangkuai is one of two key reservoirs that supplies water to the city of Baoding which has a population of more than 10 million urban and rural residents.

Baoding Mayor Yu Qun said Thursday that local authorities are trying their best to ensure water supply for residents along the river.

Local rural residents are not affected as they get water from wells, according to Yu.

The river is the main source of water supply for 50,000 residents in Fuping County. The local government has turned to nearby reservoirs and seven standby wells after the river was polluted, Yu said.

However, there have been no reports so far on people being sickened by the contaminated water, thanks to prompt disaster-relief measures by local governments.

Shanxi Vice Governor Niu Renliang and officials from the State Environmental Protection Administration have rushed to the site to coordinate clean-up efforts.

The truck was heavily overloaded when the accident happened, but the driver held back the fact that it was carrying 60 tons of coal tar when reporting the accident to traffic authorities, delaying the clean-up efforts, said local officials of Fanzhi County.

The truck driver has been detained by police.

The Chinese government has attached great importance to water safety and is developing a mechanism to deal with accidents threatening water safety, said Vice Health Minister Chen Xiaohong earlier this month.

In order to ensure safe drinking water for residents, Shanghai banned transportation of highly toxic chemicals in the Huangpu River, the main water source of the metropolis, starting from April 1.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2006)