BEIJING - Dozens of Chinese chemical plants pose safety hazards, China's environment chief said on Tuesday, just months after an explosion at one such plant poisoned a river that was a source of drinking water for millions.
Zhou Shengxian said the government has surveyed plants across the country after the blast last November poured benzene compounds into the Songhua River.
The government found more than half were located along its two major river basins, the Yellow and Yangtze, and many did not meet standards.
"Since the locations are quite a big problem, we need to take measures to avoid any future consequences of possible accidents," Zhou told a news conference.
Many of the plants had not undertaken environmental impact assessments, were built in inappropriate locations and more than 100 were found to have what Zhou termed obvious environmental safety risks.
He said the problems were being investigated but that information on which plants posed risks would not be made available until an appropriate time after the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Jan. 29.
Millions of Chinese were without drinking water for days after the explosion at a plant in northeastern Jilin sent 100 tonnes of cancer-causing benzene compounds into the Songhua River, which flows toward Russia.
The accident was not initially reported, bringing into focus China's lack of transparency and prompting its top environment chief to resign, to be replaced by Zhou.
A vice mayor in charge of evacuating Jilin who had said the Songhua accident would not cause widespread pollution, is also believed to have hanged himself.
Zhou said the State Environmental Protection Administration's interim assessment of the Songhua River spill showed fish in the river and livestock along its banks were safe to eat and that no nitro-benzene was found in the area's groundwater wells.
But the United Nations Environment Programme has said the spring thaw could release more toxins into the water.
Chinese officials played down the threat.
"The nitro-benzene concentration in the river may rise (when the ice thaws), but it will not exceed national standards on a large-scale," Chen Jining of Tsinghua University's Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering, told the briefing.
"Even in the rare cases levels are beyond standards in some places, we also have the technology in place, for example, activated carbon, to ensure safe drinking water supplies," he added.
Zhou conceded that for many years China had valued economic growth over the environment, saying priorities were now being shifted to give weight to issues such as pollution.
"The Chinese government has made a very timely and determined decision to stop the conventional approach of development, which could be characterised as 'pollution and destruction first, treatment later'," he said.
Story by Lindsay Beck
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
