According to local media, a dam would be constructed on a tributary that links the contaminated Songhua river in China to the Wusuli river on the Russian border. The Wusuli river supplies water for homes and businesses in the city of Khabarovsk in the Far Eastern region of Russia.
The pollution in the Songhua – a tributary of the Heilong river – was caused by an explosion at a petrochemical plant in China’s Jinlin province on 13 November. About 100 tons of carcinogens benzene and nitrobenzene was spilled into the river.
Following a meeting with Russia, Chinese engineers began inspecting the proposed dam site, chosen because the water is currently only 90cm deep on average.
Work is expected to be undertaken over the next four days.
