3.8 million Chinese in the city of Harbin were left without water after a explosion, which affected a company involved in the production of chemical and petroleum-based products, polluted the Songhua River in north-east China.
"After the explosion at the Jilin Petrochemical Company under China National Petroleum Corporation, our observation showed pollutants containing benzene had flown into the Songhua River
and caused water pollution", an official with SEPA (China's State Environmental Protection Administration) was quoted by Chinadaily as saying.
The guilty company has taken measures by blocking the entry of the pollutants in the river and by emptying a reservoir filled of water to dilute them. In addition, it has also organized environmental, water conservancy and chemical experts to discuss pollution control plans, and beefed up monitoring work.
According to an official quoted by the AP, as a result of the incident, the water system was shut down at midnight Tuesday and it will probably stay that way for another four days.
The explosion at the Chinese company took place on Sunday, between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., from unknown reasons. There were no reports of victims, but eyewitnesses said that dozens of persons were hospitalized.
Eating or drinking foods containing high levels of benzene can cause vomiting, irritation of the stomach, dizziness, sleepiness, convulsions, rapid heart rate and even death.
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