Guo Shuyan, vice director of the State Council Three Gorges Project Construction Committee, said at a new conference on Thursday that no anthrax bacillus has been found during repeated checks on collected soil samples from the original tomb sites. This indicated that the tombs will pose no threat to the waters of the Yangtze River once submerged, he said.

The anthrax virus, which can survive up to 50 years, can be traced back to horses used in combat, which succumbed to anthrax and were buried in Fengjie in present-day Chongqing Municipality during World War II.

In 1982, several head of livestock became infected while grazing in the burial area.

The infected livestock then passed on the virus to local residents. Six people and 13 head of livestock died during that period.

The local health department has prohibited farming, mowing and digging in the area surrounding the 19 tombstones until 2042.

According to Wu Changpei, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Health Department, while conducting sanitary preparations for the filling of the Three Gorges Reservoir, workers found that all of the 19 tombs were located below the anticipated water line of 135 meters, and should be cleaned up.

The clean-up was carried out in September last year. While workers excavated the tombs, liquefied bleaching powder was sprayed to prevent the dust from dispersing. Once the remains were incinerated with the use of blow torches, large amounts of bleaching powder were used again to sterilize the tomb sites, which were then re-buried.

According to Wu, the disinfection was carried out not only at the tomb sites, but also on all areas within a five-meter radius of the tombs.

On average, 50 kilograms of diesel oil and one ton of bleaching powder were used for each of the 19 tombs.

The entire clean-up lasted four days and was supervised by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The anthrax virus is highly infectious and resistant among human beings and animals.

(eastday.com June 14, 2003)