South China river polluted with cadmium spill
By Liang Qiwen (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-22 06:22

GUANGZHOU: A tributary of the Pearl River in South China's Guangdong Province is heavily polluted with a toxic chemical, the authorities revealed yesterday.

According to a government news release, the cadmium content was 10 times above the safety level in the Gaoqiao section of the Beijiang River in Shaoguan on Tuesday.

The government said that Shaoguan Smelting Plant had spilt an unspecified amount of cadmium into the river during production.

Workrs block a drainage pipe Shaoguan Smelting Plant December 21, 2005. [Xinhua]

The smelting plant was ordered to shut its drainage pipe on Sunday after the pollution.

But the government did not say how fast the contaminated slick was flowing and how long the water would be polluted.

Cadmium is an extremely toxic metal, said Zhang Gan, a professor at Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Most cadmium is extracted during the production of other metals like zinc, lead, and copper. It does not corrode easily and has many uses, including in batteries, pigments, metal coatings and plastics.

"Drinking water with excessive cadmium may damage the central nervous system, or even cause cancer," Zhang told China Daily yesterday.

As the cadmium dissolves in the large amount of clean water discharged from the upstream area, the water quality in Beijiang can be expected to return to normal soon, he said.