VLADIVOSTOK, January 7 (RIA Novosti, Veronica Perminova) - Half of the 200-km toxic slick in the Amur River has passed the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia's Far East, a source in the Emergencies Ministry said Saturday.
"More than 100 kilometers [over 60 miles] of the toxic slick has passed Komsomolsk-on-Amur," the source said.
Water samples that had been taken from the Amur showed that the concentration of nitrobenzene and other chemicals in the river in the zone of the slick does not exceed the maximum permissible level. Moving along the river, the slick is being "diluted" by clean water, which lowers the concentration of chemicals in the polluted area.
Local authorities continue to implement safety measures. Komsomolsk-on-Amur, home to 280,000, has so far obtained 151.5 metric tons of absorbent carbon to purify the water. Patrol groups are ensuring no fishing takes place in the area.
About 100 metric tons of chemicals, including potentially lethal benzene, spilled into the Songhua River, a tributary of the Amur, after an explosion on November 13 at a Chinese petrochemical plant. The resulting toxic slick has been moving along the Amur ever since, causing a major environmental safety concern in the region.
