Over 100,000 villagers in central China have been told not to drink local river water after arsenic from a neighboring chemical plant contaminated the waterway, state press reported Sunday. The government of Yueyang county in populous Hunan province is implementing an emergency plan to deal with the pollution, while fire engines have been dispatched to provide drinking water, Xinhua news agency said.
The pollution was sourced to a leaking waste-water pond on the Xinqiang river belonging to a chemical plant 50 kilometers (30 miles) upriver from Yueyang county, it said.
Monitors found arsenic trioxide in the water, which can lead to vomiting, stomach pain and even cancer and death, it said.
No casualties have been reported so far.
China's media have become more open about pollution since the government acknowledged the need to adjust the nation's development model after largely ignoring environmental issues during 25 years of robust economic growth.
Source: Agence France-Presse
