China is considering a proposal raised by Russia to build a temporary dam at the confluence of its Heilong and Wusuli rivers to prevent the water source of a neighbouring Russian city being contaminated, a local water resources official said yesterday.

Khabarovsk, a major city in the Russian Far East, relies heavily on Wusuli River, on the border, for civilian and industrial use.

The toxic spill in Songhua River, a tributary of Heilong River, was caused by a chemical plant explosion on November 13. About 100 tons of benzene, a carcinogenic chemical, spilled into the river.

Building of the dam will start on the Fuyuan waterway, which joins Heilong and Wusuli rivers, to block the flow of the polluted water, said sources at the provincial water resources department.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Water Resources sent an expert panel to Jiamusi to study the possibility of building the dam.

According to the initial investigation, there are two factors in favour of the project.

"The water at the Fuyuan waterway is 0.91 metre at its deepest and 0.3-0.4 metre deep on average. In addition, the current velocity of water there is almost zero," said an expert.

In a related development, the State Council on Tuesday set up a high-level team to probe the cause of the chemical plant blast which led to the pollution and vowed to mete out severe punishment to those responsible.

Li Yizhong, minister of the State Administration of Work Safety, was appointed the head of the investigation team.

The team has three groups, responsible for technical, administrative and overall matters. The Supreme People's Procuratorate has also sent a representative.

The same day the special team was formed, Wang Wei, vice-mayor of Jilin city, who was in charge of work safety and environment protection, was found dead at home.

Wang, who took part in the rescue work after the blast, insisted to journalists then that there would be no pollution.

The exact reason for his death and whether it was related to the pollution case is unknown.

The Jilin Provincial Public Security Bureau is probing the case and local officials refused to comment.

The slick disrupted the lives of millions of residents living in the cities downstream of Songhua River.

It forced Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, and a city of 3.8 million people, to cut tap-water supply for four days from November 23 to 27.

At 2 pm yesterday, the front of the contaminated water arrived at Aoqi Town, 30 kilometres away from urban Jiamusi.

Zhu Guanyao, deputy director of the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA), yesterday asked governments at all levels along the Songhua River to strengthen monitoring.

Meanwhile, in Harbin, experts said they would closely study future impact on drinking water safety, irrigation, fisheries and livestock breeding when the ice melts.

(China Daily December 8, 2005)