China Sends Aid To Russia To Fight Toxic Spill

(RFE/RL) 27 December 2005 -- China has sent more supplies to Russia to help combat a slick of chemicals from a toxic river spill upstream in China.

Xinhua reports China has sent a second batch of activated carbon to lower benzene toxins in the Amur River.


The official Xinhua news agency says about 400 tons out of a total batch of 1,000 tons was delivered to Russia's far eastern city of Khabarovsk on 26 December.


The spill reached Khabarovsk on 22 December after weeks of anxious waiting for the city's roughly 500,000 residents. The slick has now moved further downstream.


The spill was caused by an explosion at a Chinese chemical factory on 13 November.

Chinese Chemical Spill

Chinese Chemical Spill



A slick of toxic benzene and other chemicals is moving from China's Songhua River toward the Amur River in Russia's Far East. Russian authorities fear the consequences when the 80-kilometer-long toxic slick reaches the city of Khabarovsk, which relies on the Amur for its water supply.

Officials say supplies of clean water and filtering charcoal are being stockpiled in Khabarovsk. Russian authorities have warned that more than 1 million people living along the Amur could be affected by the contaminants. The spill is the result of an explosion on November 13, 2005, at a Chinese chemical plant in the city of Jilin....(more)

See also:

After Chinese Toxic Spill, Russian Environmentalists Raise Concerns About Ecological Policy