The Yellow River and drinking water sources along its banks were
not polluted by Monday's explosion at a chemical factory in
Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, a spokesman said
yesterday.
The accident took place at 3:32?PM on Monday, killing four
workers and injuring 11, after a fire at a waste acid unit in
Lanzhou Petroleum and Chemical Industry Company's organic chemical
factory, company spokesman Zhao Mingquan said at a press
conference.
The factory, a state-owned enterprise mainly producing
nitrobenzene, aniline, cyclohexylamine, rubber accelerator and
antioxidant, is located next to the Yellow River, the main water
source in northern China.
Normally, its waste water is discharged into the river after
being processed.
Zhao said the 80 tons of water used to put out the fire did not
go into the Yellow River.
"The four dead and the 11 injured are all migrant workers. They
were employed by a construction company that was doing work on our
factory. The clean-up operations are going smoothly and the injured
are in a stable condition in hospital," he added.
Local media said Lanzhou's environment department inspected
nearby sections of the Yellow River and the factory's waste
disposal system and found the water met environmental standards and
there was no pollution caused by the accident.
(China Daily May 31, 2006)