A blast at a PetroChina plant in north-eastern Jilin province on Nov 13 spilt 100 tonnes of benzene into the Songhua River. Officials waited nine days before they cut Harbin’s water supply and claimed initially that it was for maintenance. They acknowledged the massive water pollution only later.
All responsible parties have come under fire for concealing the truth and for their slow response.
Experts say this incident bears disturbing echoes of Beijing’s initial stonewalling of the spread of Sars in 2003.
It also raises doubts over its handling of disasters and health crises, such as bird flu.
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