major toxic leak near Harbin

[DaShi]

Originally posted by mindseye
[q]
DaShi, let's make an agreement that if either of us ever sees convoys of black Audis and BMWs with "A" plates streaming out of our city, we will immediately alert each other.

Sorry, but I just abandoned that sinking ship myself. You're on your own, buddy.

Seriously, it will probably get worse before it gets better. Eventually, China will see that destroying their own environment will cost them in the long run. Well, they see when it starts costing them.

On my way home, I was sitting next to a teacher in Shanghai. She mentioned that the only time Shanghai had blue skies was whenever an international conference or convention was to be held there. The local government would have all the factories shut down for a week before the event. Must be why I never saw a nice day in Shanghai; went there at the wrong times. Now that I think about it, I think Hangzhou had the same phenomenon.

[Sava]

populaton control

[DaShi]

Originally posted by mindseye
Great New York Times photo:

Sadly, none of that water went to poor villages that relied on the Songhua river for their water supply.

[DaShi]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/26/international/asia/26china.html

Spill in China Brings Danger, and Cover-Up

By JIM YARDLEY
Published: November 26, 2005
HARBIN, China, Nov. 25 - A toxic 50-mile band of contaminated river water slowly washed through this frigid provincial capital on Friday, leaving schools and many businesses closed, forcing millions of people to spend a third straight day without running water and raising fears of a long-term environmental disaster.

Residents of Harbin, China, broke ice so they could catch fish on a branch of the Songhua River Friday as toxicity readings showed that pollution from a chemical spill upstream was declining.

Yet a local newspaper seemed just as concerned about a disaster that did not happen. "There Will Not Be an Earthquake in Harbin," promised a large front-page headline in The Modern Evening Times.

The strange headline, coming as nationwide attention in China is focused on the dangerous benzene and nitrobenzene spill that contaminated the local Songhua River, seemed to have been a misprint. But, instead, it was an effort to dispel the wild rumors that mushroomed after Monday, when city officials pointedly did not mention the spill of the liquid chemicals in their initial public notice shutting down the municipal water system.

The city tried to convince the public that a shutdown was necessary to conduct routine repairs on the pipes. Suspicions instantly erupted. There had already been an inexplicable rash of rumors that the government had detected signs of an earthquake. Now those rumors escalated, and enough people panicked that officials had to confirm the spill, but the public relations damage was already done.

It seems that in their efforts to hide a chemical spill, Harbin officials may have helped fuel unfounded fears of an earthquake. The provincial earthquake bureau has since issued a reassuring statement that no temblors are predicted.

"They were trying to lie and get by," Qi Guangzhong, 64, said as he walked on a promenade beside the brown waters of the Songhua on Friday. "The government wanted to hide this."

The earthquake rumors, if bizarre, are just one of the consequences of a government response that appeared secretive and misleading at a time when China is eager to prove to the outside world that it is a candid international partner on issues like containing avian influenza.

In the Chinese news media and on the Internet, public anger seethed this week over the spill, in which an estimated 100 tons of benzene and nitrobenzene poured into the river after an explosion at the state-owned Jilin Petrochemical Company in Jilin City, 236 miles upstream from Harbin. One citizen has already sued the state-owned company responsible for the spill, seeking a symbolic $2 and a public apology, state news media reported.

The public dissatisfaction came as the central government on Friday sent an inspection team, including disciplinary officials, to investigate the spill and its aftermath in Harbin. "The presence of disciplinary officials in the team indicates punishments of irresponsible acts are on the way," the official New China News Agency reported.

At the same time, teams of environmental officials began gauging the potential damage on the Songhua as signs appeared that the immediate crisis was easing. Readings taken from the river showed that the toxicity of the water was steadily declining as inflows of water and the progression of the spill diluted the toxicity.

On the streets of Harbin, life seemed normal, if somewhat surreal, given that a major metropolitan area of several million people had almost no running water or usable toilets and that thousands of residents seemed to have fled. But the public anxiety from earlier in the week eased noticeably after the arrival of truckloads of bottled water to prevent shortages in drinking supplies.

City officials, reacting to initial reports of price gouging, put a freeze on water prices. At several corner markets, boxes of water were stacked high outside. On one street, a crowd of people stood around a fire truck, waiting for water.

"We're not worried," said a teenager playing on a swing set at a playground near the river.

Harbin officials have said the water system could be restored as soon as Saturday, when the slick of polluted water is expected to move past the city on its slowly moving path through northeastern China toward Russia. But it seemed more likely that the system would remain shut down for several days as officials determine the potential environmental and public health risks. The river supplies more than 80 percent of Harbin's public water supply.

Scientists in China have already warned of potentially dangerous long-term hazards as the benzene seeps into the soil near the riverbed or is ingested by fish and other marine life. The chemical factory, a subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, the country's largest oil company, produces benzene, a colorless liquid derived from petroleum. Drinking liquids with high levels of benzene can cause illness or even death. Benzene is also considered a carcinogen, and is linked particularly to a variety of leukemia and lymphoma.

Ma Jun, an environmentalist in Beijing and author of "China's Water Crisis," said the chemical spill had exposed enormous potential problems that existed all across China after decades of rampant industrial development. In fact, one person was killed Friday in an explosion at another chemical plant, in Sichuan Province.

"We're in the process of quadrupling our economy," Mr. Ma said. "The risks are also growing. Pollution discharges are rising. We need to face the reality that we are becoming a society at risk."

Mr. Ma also blamed the chemical plant for initially denying the spill. "Instead of informing the downstream cities and communities that they were in the path of danger, it just kept denying the toxic spill," he said. "This denial is not acceptable."

Chinese health officials were sharply criticized for covering up the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which originated in southern China in November 2002 but was not acknowledged by the authorities for several months, and then only after it had spread to Hong Kong and Beijing.

Since then, the government has earned growing praise from international health officials for being more open and responsive about public health outbreaks, like avian influenza. Lately, however, scientists have begun to question the low number of bird flu infections listed in China, which has reported only three, compared with 91 in Vietnam, with less than a tenth the population.

On Friday, the roles played by different government agencies in the chemical spill began to emerge in a flurry of articles published in the Chinese media. The different accounts, including some from the official New China News Agency, suggest that officials in Jilin and Harbin had initially sought to prevent news of the explosion from reaching the public.

After the explosion that caused the spill, factory officials initially announced that the accident posed no threat of air pollution. Officials also denied at that time that any benzene had spilled into the Songhua.

Apparently, government officials in Jilin also initially denied the chemical spill to their downstream neighbors in Heilongjiang Province, home of Harbin. But Jilin officials finally told their peers in Heilongjiang on Nov. 19, according to a Shanghai newspaper, The News Morning Post.

Meanwhile, China Youth Daily reported that local environmental officials in Jilin had first sought to dilute the spill by dumping reservoir water into the Songhua, rather than telling the public. By Monday, officials in Harbin were preparing to announce the shutdown of the water supply but feared news of the chemical spill would incite a public panic, according to The News Morning Post. So they made the announcement about the maintenance work on the pipes.

In serious accidents like this one, provincial and local officials often wait for cues from the central government in Beijing on how to respond publicly. It is unclear if top leaders played a role in the official subterfuge about the spill. Some unconfirmed reports said Prime Minister Wen Jiabao eventually ordered disclosure of the problem in Harbin.

The official English-language newspaper, China Daily, published an unusually blunt commentary that singled out the chemical company for criticism.

"We do not know what is behind the cover-up," the commentary stated. "It might be because they were afraid that they would have to pay money for the losses the pollution has incurred in Harbin, and it might be because they were afraid of losing face.

"But the fact is they have brought shame on themselves by covering up the truth."

The China Daily commentary portrayed Harbin officials as innocent victims who had responded effectively to the crisis. But many Harbin residents were immediately suspicious when city officials announced that the water would be stopped for maintenance work.

Mr. Qi, the man walking along the river, said the timing was too strange: Why would the city do routine work when the subzero temperatures of winter are about to begin?

Standing beside the river, Mr. Qi said he had first learned of the explosion by watching a Shanghai television station. "People are angry," he said. "The consequences could have been grave if people had started drinking the water and dying."

Then, he gazed at the brown, partly frozen waters. "It looks the same today, maybe even a little better," Mr. Qi said. "The pollution is always heavy in the river."

Given the China Daily article, it seems more likely that the central government was heavily involved in the cover up.

[DaShi]

Meanwhile in Hell's Ironic Punishment Division

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-China-Quake.html

Earthquake in Central China Kills 14

BEIJING (AP) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 5.5 shook part of central China on Saturday, killing at least 14 people and injuring nearly 400.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the quake happened at about 9 a.m., with the epicenter in Ruichang, a city of 420,000 in Jiangxi province.

Hundreds of homes collapsed and thousands were damaged, Xinhua said.

''The earthquake this morning was quite scary,'' said a shopkeeper in Ruichang reached by telephone who would only give her surname, Zhou.

Many people in Ruichang were staying outside for fear of aftershocks. Zhou said she felt a milder trembling at about 1 p.m.

Chinese Central Television news showed rows of crumbled brick buildings and deep cracks in the walls of many still standing.

The news showed a young boy with his head heavily bandaged and a man crying on a bench as he cradled an injured leg. An old man and his injured wife shared a cot at a makeshift medical center set up in the street.

Tents were set up outside a hospital treating some of the 377 injured. Xinhua said 1,000 tents were being sent to the area.

China's state Seismological Bureau said the quake was magnitude 5.7, while the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., reported it was 5.5.

[mindseye]

Originally posted by DaShi

Sorry, but I just abandoned that sinking ship myself. You're on your own, buddy.

Heh-heh, you know you'll be back, right?

On my way home, I was sitting next to a teacher in Shanghai. She mentioned that the only time Shanghai had blue skies was whenever an international conference or convention was to be held there. The local government would have all the factories shut down for a week before the event. Must be why I never saw a nice day in Shanghai; went there at the wrong times. Now that I think about it, I think Hangzhou had the same phenomenon.

Hmm, I can't agree with that teacher. In my nearly five years here, I have noticed Shanghai's skies become noticeably clearer, and Suzhou River is much cleaner as well. The city has put a lot of effort into moving factories out of town and other measures that have had real results.

What makes me wonder about that teacher's comment about shutting down factories in advance of conventions is that there are no factories to speak of in Shanghai. There is some small-scale production, but the sight of a smokestack is very unusual here, and if you can find one, it's usually abandoned.

I think I tend to notice this more than others because I like photography, and generally only take pictures on blue-sky days. There are certainly many foggy and smoggy days (it's a foggy town sitting on a damp river delta), but I would say that maybe half of the days of this previous summer were clear-sky days (that's pretty good in China). My first summer here, I think maybe only one-fourth of the days had blue skies.

I have a whole raft of new photos, I plan to post them very soon (still scanning, cropping, etc), you can see for yourself.

Good luck back in the States, DaShi! Please think of my next time you have a philly cheese steak!

[mindseye]

Just read that the water's back on in Harbin.

[DinoDoc]

Any news on the Russian response to a) the spill heading their way and b) the Chinese being so slow to tell them of the disaster coming to Russian territory?

[Combat Ingrid]

This will probably not be a very big deal for the Russians. First, the benzene will be diluted a lot by other rivers in the region. Secondly, a lot of it should also have evaporated before it reaches Russia (boiling point at 80 C), depending on the water temperature.

[Kuciwalker]

80 C water?

[Combat Ingrid]

Benzene has a boiling point of 80 C, it will therefore evaporate faster than the water in the river and it's concentration will thus decrease over time. Also, it will probably mostly flow on top of the water (low solubility, low density) so it gets a large area to evaporate from.

[Dis]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Any news on the Russian response to a) the spill heading their way and b) the Chinese being so slow to tell them of the disaster coming to Russian territory?

if I was Russia, I'd nuke china.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

New water fears arise in rural China
River town cuts off water supply as toxic slick arrives from plant accident

The Associated Press
Updated: 6:03 p.m. ET Nov. 30, 2005


YILAN, China - Another town on a poisoned Chinese river shut down its water system Wednesday after Communist Party members went door-to-door giving out bottled water in an effort to show that China’s leaders can protect the public from the latest environmental disaster.

Running water to about 26,000 people in Dalianhe, on the outskirts of this northeastern city, stopped at 6 p.m. as a slick of toxic benzene on the Songhua River approached, said an employee who answered the phone at the county government offices.

“It will last three days,” said the employee, who would give only his surname, Gu.

The government said Yilan itself should not be affected because the city of about 110,000 people gets its water from wells instead of the river.

The benzene arrived a day after Harbin, a major industrial center upstream, declared its water safe to drink after the system supplying 3.8 million people was shut down for five days.

The spill caused by a deadly Nov. 13 chemical plant explosion has embarrassed President Hu Jintao’s government, which has promised to clean up the environment and do more to help ordinary Chinese.

In Yilan, television broadcast hours of reports Wednesday on the water shutdown, including a government statement warning the public not to use river water. The show of openness contrasted sharply with complaints that officials upstream tried to hide the chemical spill and initially lied about the reason for shutting down Harbin’s water.

Leaflets door to door
News reports showed police and party members in red armbands going door-to-door in freezing weather, handing out leaflets and giving cases of drinking water to the elderly and poor. An elderly man lying in bed shook hands with a police commander.

Communist leaders are eager to show that while they failed to prevent the chemical spill, they are concerned about public safety and can marshal the resources to get the region through the aftermath.

“I really thank the government,” another man, identified as Zhou Changgui, was shown saying.

The 50-mile-long slick is making its way toward Russia and is expected to reach the major border city of Khabarovsk on Dec. 10-12. The Songhua flows into the Heilong River, which becomes the Amur in Russia and runs through Khabarovsk, one of the largest cities in the sparsely populated Far East.

With a steady snow falling Wednesday, the Amur was iced over near Khabarovsk’s river port, where summer vacationers and shuttle traders make trips in warmer months between China and Russia.

‘Major problem’
Residents have scooped up bottled water in stores, leaving many shops with only carbonated water. People in the city already are stocking up on water at homes, filling bathtubs and any container they can find.

Also, Health Minister Gao Qiang warned against complacency after the spill passed Harbin, saying it is still a “major problem.”

“This matter has alerted us to the need for perfect contingency plans and the effective implementation of those plans when faced with an emergency,” Gao said at a news conference.

In Yilan, the government notice promised to “safeguard market and social stability” — a warning to merchants not to raise prices for bottled water.

“Both the county government and residents have stored enough water for at least five days,” said another employee of the county government headquarters, who would give only his surname, Ma.

Ma said the county had dug five wells and would be distributing water by truck.

Yilan closed riverfront parks to keep the public away from the poison-laced water. The city lies at the intersection of the Songhua and Mudan rivers, a famous scenic spot.

Benzene likely in spring’s thaw
Experts say the damage is likely to be long-lasting but the full effects will not be known until at least early next year with the thaw of river ice believed to contain benzene.

“The benzene will remain in the ice until spring, and the (situation) will be dragged out,” said Ilya Mitasov, a Moscow-based spokesman for the World Wide Fund for Nature.

He told a Moscow news conference that a higher than normal level of benzene had been detected in the river, but it was not determined “whether it’s ours or Chinese.”

The river could take 10 years or more to flush out pollutants absorbed by mud and microorganisms, said Zhang Qingxiang, an environmental expert at Shanghai’s East China University of Science and Technology.

“If the river floods its banks,” said Yu Wenlong, a farmer who plans to plant corn, potatoes and soybeans on riverside land, “there could be contamination of the soil and that would be bad for us.”

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

© 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10269581/

So, what happens when it gets to the ocean? Or is the concentration so low by then it will be negligible

[Arrian]

Originally posted by Oerdin
A little benzene never hurt anyone.

[/corrupt official]

Nasty ****. I work in the enviromental clean up field and deal with this sort of stuff all the time. Very expensive to properly clean.

Is that what you're up to now, Oerdin?

Being an environmental claims guy, I see a lot of this stuff too. Not on this scale, mind you, but it's all over the place in the USofA, too. Benzene is a basic component of oil/gas - which is everywhere. Somebody's fuel tank leaks - benzene contamination (among other things, of course). Someone spills some gas - benzene. Refinery buries its waste in unlined pits -benzene.

This sounds pretty major, although I note that they haven't provided an estimate of the amount of contaminants released... or even exactly what was released. Pure benzene? Possible, I suppose, but typically benzene is just one of the nastier components of something else - which will contain other contaminants. Gasoline has a bundle of things you don't want to ingest.

edit: hmm, maybe it was just pure benzene. Still, no idea how MUCH.

Events like this will eventually culminate in some sort of "Love Canal" type event that forces the government to deal with industrial pollution proactively. Our own government isn't great at that, but they occasionally try, which is a far cry from this (stage 1 - coverup. stage 2 - damn, coverup failed... umm, apologize and find some scapegoats).

-Arrian

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oerdin
A little benzene never hurt anyone.

[/dead corrupt official]

Fixed.

Chinese toxic blast official dead
The vice-mayor of the Chinese city where a chemical blast polluted a major river last month has been found dead.

Police are investigating the cause of death after Wang Wei, 43, was found on Tuesday at his home, officials said.

News of his death came as China said it would severely punish anyone found to have tried to cover up the impact of the blast, in north-eastern Jilin.

The spilled chemicals have now reached Jiamusi, the last Chinese city before the Songhua river flows into Russia.

More than 100 families in Jiamusi have temporarily left their houses and the city has built up reserves of bottled water, China's Xinhua news agency said.

Mr Wang had been responsible for dealing with the aftermath of the 13 November explosion at a chemical plant in Jilin.

Two days later he was quoted by the China Business News as saying: "It will not cause large-scale pollution. We have decided not to have a large-scale evacuation."

In fact, the nearby city of Harbin had its water supply stopped for five days as the spilled chemicals passed.

Tardy response

Three weeks on from the accident, China's leaders are finally scrambling to assign blame, says a BBC correspondent in Beijing, Louisa Lim.

The saga has already led to two resignations - the head of the environmental watchdog and the boss of the petrochemical company in charge of the plant which exploded.

The government has set up a team to find out who was responsible for the explosion. It warned that anyone who failed to co-operate would be punished.

Government leaders are increasingly stressing the need for local officials to be seen to be accountable, and more transparent.

But our correspondent says that the terms of the investigation refer only to the immediate explosion, not to any ensuing cover-up, and therefore might not be enough to assuage public anger.