The nitrobenzene content in the water of northeast China's Songhua River remains at a safe level and is suitable for drinking and agricultural use, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Heilongjiang Province announced on Thursday.

 

A total of 790 readings based on daily monitoring of eight cross sections of the Songhua River have been collected, of which 80 percent did not detect any nitrobenzene content or other toxic chemicals during the river's spring thaw period from March 21, said Li Ping, the bureau's spokesman.

 

The concentration of nitrobenzene in an area upstream running across Harbin, capital city of Heilongjiang, temporarily approached and exceeded standards on April 1 and 6, respectively, according to Li.

 

"However, experts affirmed such fluctuation of the nitrobenzene content during the spring thaw is natural and normal. It won't have a negative impact on the Songhua River," Li said.

 

The Songhua River, which is currently Harbin's sole water supply, suffered serious pollution after a blast at an upstream chemical plant last November when approximately 100 tons of pollutants containing hazardous benzene spilled into it after a chemical plant explosion in Heilongjiang's neighboring Jilin Province.

 

A dam built in Fuyuan Channel last December for temporary use to block off the contaminated water in the Heilongjiang-Jilin border region has been removed since no pollution has been caused in the region after a series of eco-friendly measures were taken by central and local governments.

 

Chinese and Russian experts obtained samples of ice, water and mud from eight sections along the two countries bordering the Heilongjiang river basin, including Harbin, Jiamusi, Tongjiang in China and Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk in Russia.

 

Experts have also worked out the regularity of nitrobenzene distribution and release from ice in the Songhua river, which shows that no large quantities of nitrobenzene will get into the water or sink to the bottom with the spring thaw.

 

Nitrobenzene content in dairy products, eggs and meat samples along the Songhua River is within the food safety standards of China, and Songhua River is safe for irrigation.

 

The drinking water supply along the Songhua River is also safe, Li said.

 

The Sino-Russia expert team has concluded its inspection and concluded that benzene, nitrobenzene and other suspicious contamination have not been detected in samples.

 

"The experts from the two countries are expected to conduct further inspections in late April," Li added.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2006)