Tap water pollution at a residential community of Fuxin City in northeast China's Liaoning Province, has recently poised a threat to the safety of water supply for 2,636 households. By 6 PM on January 15, 1,139 poisoned residents had received medical treatment, with 59 people hospitalized but no reported death cases. All the poisoned locals are now in stable condition according to the local government's information department.

"I felt dizzy and had a vomiting attack along with diarrhea on the afternoon of January 8 and then I went to the community clinic. Many local residents were also receiving medical treatment there and they had the same symptoms," said one of the local residents of the community, surnamed Chen.

Doctors concluded that it might be caused by food poisoning and then reported the case to the local municipal government.

This mass poisoning case broke out on January 9 in the community, with many residents vomiting and experiencing diarrhea. The infected people received emergency medical treatment in local hospitals.

The poisoning may have been caused by contaminated water, according to the residents. The households inside the community were warned not to drink the tap water at 6 PM on January 9.

The investigation by the city's waterworks company and health department found that the community's sewer pipelines did not function properly. Sewage was discharged into the drinking water storage pond, causing the contamination of drinking water, the investigators reported.

"The drinking water is stored in the storage pond, less than 5 meters from the sewage pipelines, that is unreasonable," said Chen. Many local residents have also confirmed his claim.

"We are looking into the case to find out the real cause and identify the responsibility," said Zhang Wanqin, Director of the local information department.

By January 13, all the tainted tap water pipelines had been sterilized and conformed to standards of drinking water levels, based on tests carried out by the local center for disease control and prevention. Tap water service had been resumed within the community, said Wang Ziyi, Secretary-General of the municipal government.

The municipal government has taken emergency measures after the poisoning case, providing fresh water and free medical treatment for poisoned residents.

(China.org.cn by Yang Xi, January 17, 2008)