China to handle Songhua River pollution with responsible attitude

While China is racing against time to handle the Songhua River pollution, Chinese leaders have pledged that the Chinese government will spare no efforts to shield Russia from the toxic spill.

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday told Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev that China will deal with the issue seriously with a "highly responsible" attitude.

"We will take all necessary and effective measures and do our utmost to minimize the pollution and reduce the damage to the Russian side," Hu said.

He said China hopes to improve communication and consultation with Russia on the issue and is ready to provide further assistance to enhance cooperation on fighting against the pollution.

"I believe relevant problems will be properly solved with our joint efforts and close cooperation," Hu said.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday that China agrees to consider the construction of a temporary dam at the Fuyuan waterway to prevent the water sources of a neighboring Russian city from being contaminated.

The pollution spill in northeast China's Songhua River was caused by an explosion at a Chinese petrochemical plant in November. The Songhua River flows into the Heilong River which merges with the Wusuli River in the Russian border city of Khabarovsk to become the Amur.

The Fuyuan waterway, linking the Heilong and Wusuli rivers along the two nations' border, supplies water for homes and businesses in Khabarovsk, an important city in Russia's Far Eastern region. The city's water intake is in the lower reaches of the Fuyuan waterway.

"China and Russia are still discussing the details of the temporary dam," Qin said.

The cross-border water pollution has drawn serious concern from Chinese leaders.

Earlier, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao wrote to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, pledging to enhance cooperation with the Russian side to reduce damage from pollution spill.

"The Chinese and Russian people drink water from the same river. To protect the cross-border water resources is of key importance to the health and safety of the two peoples," Wen said in the letter, which was dated on Dec. 4.

The Chinese premier also introduced in his letter the countermeasures that China has taken against the accident and noted that China will deal with the issue in a responsible manner.

On Wednesday, a Chinese work team consisting of members from the State Environmental Protection Administration, Ministry of Water Resources, Foreign Ministry and Heilongjiang provincial government, has set off for Russia to handle the pollution.

The work team is expected to hold discussions with officials from the Russian ministries of foreign affairs and natural resources, and to meet with regional governors in Russia's border city of Khabarovsk and Jewish autonomous region.

Meanwhile, pollution-relief materials are being sent to Russia from China.

According to the Foreign Ministry, China has sent two batches of pollution-relief materials to Russia, including water monitoring devices and 150 tons of activate carbon, which will help absorb the chemicals in the river.

The Foreign Ministry said China began to provide Russia with relevant information on Nov. 22. Since Nov. 24, China began to inform Russia daily of monitoring results.

A hotline has been set up between the environmental departments of the two countries. Working groups including Chinese and Russian experts got down to work on the pollution on Nov. 22.

Measures were also taken to dilute the toxic materials in the river. China has blocked the discharging site of the pollutants into the river, raised the downward flow of water from the upstream hydropower stations and sped up the dilution speed to avoid the pollution from spreading.

While taking measures to lower the harm of chemical pollution, China has vowed to sternly punish those responsible for the chemical plant explosion, which caused toxic leakage into the Songhua River.

Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, pledged a thorough investigation in the explosion and the ensuing toxic spill in the river.

Li, who headed an investigation team set up by the State Council on Tuesday to probe the accident, promised to seriously deal with those enterprises, departments and individuals held responsible for the accident.

The Chinese government approved the resignation of Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration last Friday, who became the highest-ranking official to resign for an environmental incident in China.

In addition, the senior management of local chemical industry, including Yu Li, head of the Jilin branch of China National Petroleum Corporation, was dismissed for his responsibility for the toxic spill.

Source: Xinhua