Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-04-12
Excessive levels of benzene in tap water have affected more than 2.4 million people in downtown Lanzhou, in northwestern China's Gansu province, provincial authorities said on Friday.
Lanzhou citizens rush to buy lots of bottled water at Hualian Supermarket, April 11. (Photo/Xinhua) |
Excessive levels of benzene in tap water have affected more than 2.4 million people in downtown Lanzhou, in northwestern China's Gansu province, provincial authorities said on Friday.
Tests on
Friday showed tap water contained 160 micrograms of benzene per liter, far in
excess of the 10 micrograms per liter national limit, according to the city's
environmental protection office.
The city
government warned citizens not to drink tap water for the next 24 hours.
Benzene is a colorless carcinogen used in the manufacture of plastics.
Tests on
Thursday and Friday found between 118 micrograms to 200 micrograms of benzene
per liter, according to Veolia Water, a Sino-French joint venture and the sole
water supplier for urban Lanzhou, the provincial capital.
An initial
investigation found problems in a 3 km channel which links the plant that
preprocesses the water and the plant that supplies water to Lanzhou. Closure of
the channel will cut the city's water supply by half, said Tian Hong, head of
Lanzhou's water quality monitoring station. Fire engines will be used to carry
water to affected areas.
The local
government is investigating the source of the contamination, and sources with
Veolia told Xinhua that they believed that the benzene came from chemical
waste, but refused to single out any particular plant. They denied any
possibility that the Yellow River, the original source of the water, was
polluted. Gansu's publicity department reaffirmed on Friday afternoon that the
Yellow River, which runs through the city, is not contaminated.
Lanzhou
residents panicked upon hearing the news, rushing to supermarkets and grocery
stores to stock up on bottled water. At Hualian Supermarket, one of the largest
in downtown Lanzhou, many trolleys were piled with cases of bottled water. Latecomers
gathered in front of empty shelves, waiting for resupply.
"I had
no idea what benzene was, but my family are all scared. My husband called to
ask me to buy as much bottled water as I can," a shopper told Xinhua.
This is the
second incident of its kind in Lanzhou in two months. On March 6, residents
reported a strange odor when they turned on their taps, which was later
confirmed to be a high concentration of ammonia, although it was within the
limits of the national standards.
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