Russian region appeals for help over China toxic slick

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2005

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AFP) — The governor of Russia's eastern province of Khabarovsk appealed to Moscow and Beijing for "exhaustive measures" to protect inhabitants from a benzene slick moving towards the Russian border from China.

"The consequences of pollution in the Amur river will be long-term and it will take many months, if not years, to overcome them," Governor Viktor Ishayev said Monday at an emergency committee meeting.

Slowed down by icy water, the slick has been making its way down the Songhua river, known as Sungari in Russian, which feeds into the Amur, after an explosion upstream at a PetroChina chemical plant last month.

"This is why the administration of Khabarovsk province has decided to appeal to Russian and Chinese government leaders and...