U.S. Water News Online
SHANGHAI, China -- Independent testing and decontamination are urgently needed to cope with a chemical plant spill that unleashed a slick of benzene and other toxins into a northeastern Chinese river and then into Russia, a report by the U.N. Environmental Program said.
The report, issued by a team of U.N. experts who visited areas affected by the spill in the Songhua River, also urged China to conduct a "risk assessment" for hazardous substances stored in its many river basins.
Both China and Russia should provide access to "independent and impartial sampling and chemical analysis" of the Nov. 13 spill from a chemical plant explosion, which spewed about 100 tons of benzene and other chemicals into the Songhua, the report said.
The environmental impact from the accident, including groundwater, surface water and soil contamination, as well as air pollution, must be identified and decontamination measures "implemented as a matter of urgency," it said.
The chemicals released by the accident included benzene, nitrobenzene and aniline, a poisonous liquid used to make dyes, resins, rubber additives and agricultural products. All are thought to be potentially cancer-causing.
The report also urged that an international commission be set up to promote sustainable development and environmental protection of the Songhua River, which runs from the Changbai Mountains, near North Korea's border with China, to the Amur River in Russia.
Lessons should be learned from the incident, the report said, adding that "these lessons can serve the international community to improve prevention, preparedness and response capabilities."
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