The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) confirms on November 23, 2005 that pollutants containing benzene and nitrobenzene have contaminated the Songhua River in northeast China after a chemical-plant blast in its upper reaches. It has also forced Harbin City to cut off its water supply for five days. The city is situated on the river's middle reaches and its 3.8 million people rely on the Songhua for water supply.
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