SHANGHAI - Pollution in China's southern
region of Guangxi sparked panic buying of bottled water this week after a
mining firm dumped toxic cadmium into a river, state media said Thursday.
Residents in Liuzhou city filled shopping
carts with boxes of bottled water, as the government sought to reassure people
that the drinking water supply was safe, Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post
reported.
Authorities found waste discharged into the
Longjiang river by the Jinhe Mining Co caused excessive levels of cadmium some
three times the government's accepted limit, the official Xinhua news agency
said.
The pollution was originally detected on
January 15 after it killed a "small number" of fish, but measurements
on Wednesday showed elevated levels of cadmium further downstream, it said.
The Liuzhou government could not be reached
for comment Thursday, a public holiday for the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Authorities had dispatched officials to ensure
ample supply of bottled water at shops and prevent price gouging, Xinhua said.
State media showed pictures of shelves at one
supermarket almost stripped bare of bottled water.
However, Liuzhou officials said water quality
in the area was "safe". Over the past week, firefighters had dumped
chemicals aimed at neutralising the cadmium into the river.
According to the World Health Organization
cadmium is a carcinogen which can seriously damage the kidneys, bones and
respiratory system. It has several industrial applications, ranging from steel
to batteries.
Three decades of rapid economic growth and lax
enforcement of environmental protection laws have caused most waterways in
China to be heavily contaminated with toxic waste from factories and farms.
A toxic algae bloom - likely caused by
pollution such as chemical fertiliser - on Taihu Lake in eastern China
contaminated water supplies for more than 2.3 million people in 2007.
Pollution by individual factories has also
sparked protests in China as residents, who fear for their health, show a
rising awareness about the environment.
In a recent case, hundreds of people living
near a plant making solar panels in eastern China protested in September last
year, forcing authorities to temporarily shut the Jinko Solar factory.
AFP
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