People's Republic of China/Russian Federation: Chemical Spill OCHA Situation Report No. 2

Ref: 2005/215
OCHA Situation Report No. 2
Chemical Spill
People's Republic of China/Russian Federation

This situation report is based on: information received from translations of reports provided by the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) to the United Nations Resident Coordinator's office in the People's Republic of China (translated by UNON Nairobi), an update from the Russian Ministry of Emergencies (translated by the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit) as well as media reports. Parts of this information are also based on information received by Russian authorities from the General Consulate of the People's Republic of China in Khabarovsk.

Situation

People's Republic of China

1. According to the Chinese Authorities an explosion occurred on 13 November 2005 at a petrochemical plant of the Jilin Petrochemical Corporation, which is affiliated with the China National Petroleum Corporation. Five people were reportedly killed, 70 injured and 10,000 evacuated in Jilin, China following the explosion.

2. The explosion led to the release of organic pollutants including benzene, phenylamine and nitrobenzene, with nitrobenzene and benzene released in quantities exceeding levels permissible in China. Pollutants from the explosion entered the nearby Songhua River, principally through the Jilin Petrochemical Corporation's No. 10 eastern route. The pollutants that entered the river started to move downstream in a plume of contaminated water that is now estimated to be about 110 km long.

3. According to monitoring data provided by the local environmental department, the water quality of the Songhua River in Jilin Province had returned to the national standard surface water level as of 6 p.m. on 22 November.

4. However, SEPA reported that 16 km upriver from the drinking water intake for Harbin city (which is downstream from Jilin), nitrobenzene concentrations had reached 0.5805mg/L, which is 33.15 times higher than the permitted level, by midnight on 25 November. Measured concentrations came down to 0.4943mg/L (or 28.08 times higher than permissible levels) at 7 a.m. on 25 November, dropping further to 0.2003mg/L (or 10.78 times permissible levels) by 6 p.m. on 25 November, and finally to 0.0870mg/L (or 4.12 times higher permissible levels) at 1 a.m. on 26 November. The water supply to Harbin city was shut down from 22 to 27 November, but has since reportedly been declared safe again. Primary and secondary schools in Harbin have resumed classes after a week of closures.

5. The pollution plume is moving at about 1 to 1.5 km/h and has progressed about 20 km in the last 24 hours. Past Harbin city, the pollution plume continues to larger tributaries such as the Hulan river, the Tangwang River and the Mudan River. It will also reach the Heilong/Amur River, which forms a natural border between Russia and China and flows through Russia into the Sea of Okhotsk. According to SEPA, the pollution plume will dissipate at a faster rate with the higher volume of water in these rivers, resulting in a lower concentration of pollutants in the water.

Russian Federation

6. The area within the Russian Federation that will likely be affected by the plume of contaminated water contains 70 settlements with a total population of approximately 1 million people. According to the Russian Far East Emergency Department, it is expected that the plume will reach the Amur River around 10-12 December 2005, the city of Khabarovsk - by 13-15 December, the city Amursk by 16-18 December, the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur by 17-19 December, and the river mouth by 25-27 December.

7. Current temperatures are approximately -14 to - 16 Celsius in the Amur River area, with some reported snowfall. It is expected that the Amur River will freeze over prior to 10 December 2005.

National Response

People's Republic of China

8. The provincial authorities of Jilin and Heilongjiang have activated their contingency plans. Experts from the Ministry of Water Resources, SEPA, the Ministry of Construction and the National Bureau of Production Safety Supervision and Administration are working together in response to the disaster.

9. According to the SEPA, the following mitigation measures have been taken:

- Stopping further releases of pollutants into the river;

- Increasing the flow volume of the hydro-power stations to dilute pollutant concentrations;

- Implementing emergency protection measures to safeguard drinking water;

- Mobilizing experts in environmental protection, hydropower utilization and chemicals to participate in contamination control;

- Setting up monitoring posts along the Songhua river and increasing monitoring; and,

- Ensuring the timely provision of monitoring data and information.

10. In Harbin, over fifty ground water wells have been drilled to provide clean drinking water to its inhabitants. Downstream from Harbin, the water supply of the city of Dalianhe (26,000 inhabitants) was cut off effective 1 December for three days.

11. According to SEPA, an environmental assessment has been carried out and subsequently a mitigation programme is being implemented.

12. The local environmental department has set up 13 monitoring posts in the Songhua river area downstream of Harbin and deployed three detection vehicles to monitor the pollution plume.

Russian Federation

13. A regular exchange of information takes place between the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese authorities.

14. The regional center of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies has deployed two operational teams to undertake continuous sampling and analysis of the water quality in the Amur River.

15. The Russian Authorities have also taken measures to ensure sufficient water supply for the population including:

- Checking the conditions of water wells to assure adequate supplies of groundwater;

- Establishing 165 points where water can be distributed to the public;

- Preparing mobile water tanks, both automobile and rail-based; and,

- Increasing production of bottled drinking water from 75 tons/day to 1,525 tons/day.

16. Water reserves established to date would guarantee supplies of water to the population for a period of three days. A special airplane of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies has already delivered 20 tons of activated carbon to Khabarovsk to be used at water treatment facilities stations, and more supplies are expected.

17. Authorities of Khabarovsk established a telephone hotline to inform citizens on the situation. Local media are publishing daily bulletins with the results of monitoring and sampling in both rivers.

18. Monitoring results of the Amur River up to 30 November did not show the presence of toxic substances above normal levels.

19. A temporary ban on fishing has been imposed in certain parts of the Amur River.

20. Due to the low temperatures, mitigation measures are expected to take place at least until June next year when ice has melted.

International response

21. OCHA and UNEP, through the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit (Joint Unit) have offered assistance to both the Chinese and Russian authorities. To date, no official request for international assistance has been received. However, the Joint Unit remains on standby to deploy experts from a number of donor countries to conduct any emergency response activities that may be required (including, for example, an impartial assessment of the situation, and chemical sampling and analysis.)

22. High-level discussions have taken place between the Chinese Authorities and the Executive Director of UNEP in Beijing, as well as between the Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China and the Deputy Executive Director of UNEP in Nairobi.

23. OCHA is in close contact with the UN Resident Coordinator's Offices in Beijing and Moscow and will revert with further information as it becomes available.

24. This situation report, together with further information on other ongoing emergencies is available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int.

Map: China: Chemical spill - Situation map

Telephone: +41 22 917 12 34
Fax: +41 22 917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41 22 917 20 10

Desk Officers:

Mr. Rene Nijenhuis (Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit)
Direct Tel. +41 22 917 1815

Mr Masaaki Nakagawa (desk officer for People's Republic of China)
Direct Tel. +41 22 917 4034

Ms Myrtia Murgia (desk officer for Russian Federation)
Direct Tel. +41 22 9173145

Press contact:

(GVA) Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41 22 917 26 53
(N.Y.) Ms. Stephanie Bunker, direct Tel. +1 212 917 892 16 79