Drinking water for 80,000 residents of Yueyang County in central
China's Hunan Province has been suspended after
dangerous levels of arsenic were found in local water sources.
The discovery was made on Friday, but after emergency measures
local authorities say the water is now safe, and taps will be
turned back on today.
Primary investigations showed that the pollution was caused by
Haoyuan Chemical Plant and Taolin Lead and Zinc Chemical Plant in
Linxiang, a city 50 kilometers upriver of the county on the
Xinqiang River, Pan Yue, vice-minister of the State Environmental
Protection Administration (SEPA), said yesterday in a news
release.
The two suspected enterprises have been shut down and their top
managers are in custody, Pan said. Charges were not immediately
available.
The pollution was discovered during a routine water quality
check of the river, which contained a level of arsenic "10 times
higher than official standards," Xinhua News Agency said.
The two plants have never conducted any environmental
assessments, nor did they treat waste water before discharge, Pan
said.
"Investigations showed that the two plants (Haoyuan and Taolin)
respectively directly discharged five tons and 200 tons of waste
water with a high concentration of arsenic into the Xinqiang River
each month," Pan said.
However, an on-the-spot test showed that the water in Dongting
Lake, the nation's second largest freshwater lake, was clean at the
mouth of the Xinqiang River, he noted.
The water quality of Yangtze River, which is at the east end of
the lake, has not been affected, and residents downstream need not
worry about the safety of the drinking water, SEPA officials
said.
No people have been reported poisoned in Yueyang County, said
Zhang Zhimin, vice-director of SEPA's quick-response centre for
emergencies, who participated in a task force dispatched to the
site.
(China Daily September 12, 2006)