Shanghai Dealing With Contaminated Water Scare

After a tanker dumped chemical waste into an upper stream of the Huangpu river, nearly 30,000 people of about 8,000 households in China's Shanghai city are relying on bottled water. Two water plants in the city's suburban Songjiang district shut off their supplies Friday after a tanker dumped chemical waste into an upper stream of the Huangpu river.

According to authorities, nearly 30,000 people, about 8,000 households, in the district's Maogang Town, now have to rely on bottled water and delivery by fire engines until the water plants can resume operations, Shanghai Daily reported.

Also, about 400 enterprises and public institutions, including a school and a kindergarten, were closed as a result of the emergency.

Environmental experts are checking water samples from Damaogang Creek in Songjiang district and Jueshigang Creek in Jinshan district, two stretches of the same stream which flows into the Huangpu river. The water samples were being checked every hour.

Authorities said over 10 people, including the tanker driver and managers of the Shanghai Xueyan Logistics Co, operators of the vehicle, have been taken into custody while an investigation continued.

Source-IANS