Chemical spill affects 1,300 villagers
Updated: 2011-07-11 21:46
(Xinhua)
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HANGZHOU - About 1,300 villagers found themselves without a reliable source of drinking water for four days after a chemical spill contaminated six wells in a village in East China's Zhejiang province, local residents said Monday.
A container truck collided with a tanker truck loaded with industrial ammonia on an expressway in the city of Yiwu on July 8. Twenty metric tons of ammonia spilled out of the tanker, seeping into the ground and contaminating a nearby creek.
All six wells in the village of Xitang, located just over a kilometer away from the scene of the accident, were polluted by the spilled chemical. Local environmental authorities have declared the wells to be unfit for use, according to village head Wu Yongsheng.
"We haven't used the well water for four straight days. Our lives have been badly affected, as the wells are our only source of drinking water," Wu said.
Civil affairs authorities in Yiwu have used firetrucks to bring drinking water to the villagers since the accident occurred, he said.
Local environmental authorities are closely monitoring the situation, he added.