The Curious Case of the Chinese Chemical Leak

The Chinese government is ordering two reservoirs to discharge water into the Songhua River in order to speed the process of pushing the benzene and chemical laden spill past the city of Harbin.

The Chinese Government today ordered two reservoirs along the Songhua River to discharge more water downward to dilute the 80-km-long benzene slick on the river in northeast China which has forced authorities to cut off water supply to millions of people.

On receiving orders from the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, the Fengman reservoir has discharged water flux at the upstream of the Songhua River.

The discharged water flux from a reservoir at the upstream of Nenjiang River, tributary of the Songhua River, was also increased, Xinhua news agency reported.

An official with the Ministry of Water Resources said the water flow of the mainstream of the Songhua River is quite slow, as the river is in a dry and frozen season.

Releasing more water from reservoirs will be very helpful for increasing the speed of water flow and diluting the benzene in the river.

Once again, we're seeing a bit of confusion over when the chemical spill first started. And the Chinese government response has been incompetent. Only now are we hearing that the government is taking steps to try to clear the water of the chemicals through the use of carbon absorbant.

And there's now word that yet another chemical plant explosion has released benezene and other chemcials into the water supply in Dianjiang.

The blast on Thursday at the Yingte Chemical Co in Dianjiang, part of the massive Chongqing municipality straddling the middle reaches of the Yangtse, killed one worker and forced the closure of schools and evacuation of 6000 nearby residents.

People in the area were warned not to drink water from the local river, a tributary of the Yangtse, because of concern that carcinogenic benzene had spilled.

One has to wonder how many millions of people are affected by these chemical spills and the true extent of the damage. Harbin has a population of 3.8 million alone. And there are plenty of communities up and down the Songhua River that are being exposed to the chemical spill. We're only learning now that the Chinese government is evacuating people from along the river.

The BBC has managed to contact a few people in Harbin, who are reporting their individual experiences. One notes that very few people have actually been informed of the problems, and that most people seem to be taking this in stride. Another notes that most folks don't particularly trust the government and the water in the river has been polluted for quite some time, though not as badly as this current situation has presented itself.

When will the Chinese people demand that their government do better and that they get a free flow of information instead of relying on government sources for their news?

UPDATE:
Very few bloggers seem to be interested in this crisis. I wonder why. A technorati search doesn't reveal all that much. Very few prominent bloggers are covering the subject. Here's a few others that are:

deal architect thinks that the Chinese need to become more transparent. I'd say. More than 10 days between the incidient starting and informing the public isn't transparency. It's criminal behavior.

Rosebud notes that wells are being drilled because the river has frozen over. In other words, this problem is going to persist until the river thaws out. The chemicals aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Jackaranda has a timeline starting with November 13, followed by action by the Harbin government to cut their water supply on November 21.

Fear of a White Planet asks some obvious questions. Too bad the media isn't asking them, and the Chinese people aren't demanding answers to them.

Pourquoi Pas examines the Russian response as the chemical spill inches its way down the Songhua River towards Russia.

Kinshasa On The Potomac thinks that this story will only become more common as the Chinese seek to modernize and develop and the existing infrastructure is old and enforcement of environmental regulations is spotty at best. He also thinks that the Chinese have been hiding the true extent of the H5N1 avian flu epidemic, which goes hand in hand with the limited information coming out about the chemical spill. The government wants to control the flow of information to limit its impact.

Here's hoping that the flow of information becomes a torrent and the Chinese people realize that the Chinese government needs to be replaced with a democratic institution. My Fleece Vest notes that environmental crises helped push the Soviet Union towards extinction.

True Blue Liberal also notes the disaster, and that it started November 3.