Toxic leak reaches Harbin, China

BBC reports that Chinese newspapers have grown more explicit in their criticism of the official response to the toxic leak which has hit the north-eastern city of Harbin.

Commentators in Beijing and further afield condemn the 'lies' told before the authorities revealed what had really happened, although a paper in Harbin itself tries to play down the crisis. A Beijing paper also worries about the country's environmental record. Read more here. There is also concern in Russian towns in the Far East according to Reuters.

Chronology:

13 Nov Explosion at petrochemical plant, Jilin city
21 Nov Water to Harbin city cut off; local government cites mains maintenance
22 Nov State media say water could have been contaminated after the blast
23 Nov Authorities admit very high levels of benzene have been found in the water
23 Nov Authorities say 100 tonnes of benzene emptied into the Songhua river


"...the Jilin corporation denied the pollution of river water three days ago. It said that the explosion produced only carbon dioxide and water, which would definitely cause no pollution to the water of the Songhua River, according to a report by China Business News on Tuesday. It also promised it had a sewage treatment plant and it did not discharge any untreated water into the river, the report said. In the same report, an anonymous source from the Jilin provincial government revealed that the river was indeed contaminated by a toxic spill from the explosion. People cannot help but doubt that the Jilin corporation was trying to cover up the truth."

Read the rest of the Xinhua article here.