BEIJING, November 25 (RIA Novosti, Alexei Yefimov) - The level of nitrobenzene in the Songhua River near the city of Harbin in northeast China is 33 times higher than the accepted norm after an accident at a nearby petrochemical plant, China's state environmental agency said Friday.
Toxic chemicals spilled into the river after the November 13 accident and are now heading toward the Russian city of Khabarovsk, which has a population of about 600,000, along the Amur River.
A special task force from the Chinese State Council left for Harbin from Beijing Friday to probe into the reasons for the chemical spill and help local authorities deal with the aftermath. Water supplies from the Songhua have been suspended in Harbin.
Down the river, the town of Jiamusi is also preparing to face pollution, though it uses the Songhua waters for technical needs only, deputy head of the state environmental agency Zhang Lijun said Thursday.
