But little was said or done to alert the rural communities in numerous towns and villages along the Songhua between Jilin and Harbin about the dangerous chemicals flowing in the water. The authorities have offered no estimates on how many people rely on the river for drinking water.
After the news of the spill filtered to the villages surrounding Harbin, peasants started digging underground wells for water, the local media reported. But the environmental organization Greenpeace has warned that any industrial chemicals that have seeped into the soil would have a long-term environmental impact.
The November 13 explosion released into the river about 100 tons of benzene, which is highly toxic and carcinogenic, along with some nitrobenzene, a benzene derivative. High-level exposure to benzene is known to cause leukemia, and there are concerns that the same effects could result from long-term low-level exposure through water or food.
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“We urge the Chinese government to make even greater efforts in protecting the local people and the environment,” said Kevin May, toxics campaign manager of Greenpeace China. “It should, for example, conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the pollution and, on that basis, draw up a plan and implement effective cleanup.”
Pollution concerns have been behind a string of protests across the country in recent months and the nexus between local governments and factories which flout environmental norms has aroused sharp criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and government officials.
