A chemical spill from an overturned truck is threatening the drinking water safety for more than 200,000 people in Baise City in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

On Saturday morning in the neighboring Funing County, Yunnan Province, the truck carrying 33.6 tons of crude phenol overturned and spilled the poisonous chemical into the Zhesang River in the upper reaches of the Baise multipurpose dam.

The chemicals entered into the dam area on Monday morning, said a municipal government official. About 15 km down from the dam was a water intake for 200,000 people in Baise.

How much of the river was polluted had yet to be determined.

The Baise government had ordered more than 1,000 households in Yangyu Town, which might be affected by the chemicals, not to use the water in the upper reaches of the dam.

It also has taken measure to ensure drinking water supply for local residents.

The government was busy building a barricade on the river to reduce the pollutants. Rescuers also threw in lime and active carbon to neutralize and absorb the crude phenol, the official said

Phenol is a caustic, white crystalline compound derived from benzene. It is used in the production of resins, plastics and pharmaceuticals. In a diluted form, it can be used as a disinfectant or antiseptic.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2008)