Water supply resumes after chemical plant leak

In Northern China's Hebei Province, water supply has been resumed to more than 1 million people in Handan city following an accident at a chemical plant. The accident in the neighbouring Shanxi Province sent industrial pollutants into the upper reaches of the Zhanghe River. Anyang city in Central China's Henan province was also affected.

Nearly 9 tons of the chemical aniline contaminated a river that supplies household water.

An official with the company that owns the plant where the leak occured said a loose drainage valve was to blame.

A Tianjin chemical industry group official said, "It is a floating roof tank. The soft hose on the mouth of the tank ruptured and caused the leak."

The city of Handan, home to nine million people, was severely affected. Authorities there cut off the water supply immediately after being informed.

Gao Chunhua, Manager of Handan water supply company, said, "The water plants of Sandi and Tiexi draw water from different sources. Tiexi gets surface water from a reservoir while Sandi uses underground water. The underground water is clean."

Still, the latest tests show that the aniline contained in the river is 100 times higher than safety level. When they heard the news, local residents rushed to the stores.

A resident said, "It was at around 8 pm. Many people came to buy water."

The leak at the plant was discovered on December 31, when employees spotted aniline leaking from a broken pipe while conducting a routine check. However, the accident was not reported to Shanxi government officials until 5 days later.

In a media briefing in Shanxi, officials announced that the 4 who are mainly responsible for the leak have been dismissed from their positions.

Liu Dashan, chief engineer of department of Envirenmental Protection of Shanxi province, said, "We are now carrying out further investigation of the accident, and will inform you if the local government tried to conceal the accident."

The underground water supply resumed on Sunday, while another 30 tons of aniline had been contained in a nearby disused reservoir.

Aniline is a toxic chemical widely used to manufacture pigments, herbicides and other chemicals. It is easily absorbed by the human body, and can cause blood diseases. It can also be harmful to the functions of the liver and kidney.