Chinese and Russian environmental researchers have wound up the
second national-level joint test this year on the water quality of
border rivers.
Researchers extracted samples at nine sites along the Ergun,
Heilongjiang, Wusuli and Suifen rivers and Xingkai Lake, and have
finished lab analysis based on each country's standards, sources
with the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA),
said.
The Songhua River is a
tributary of the Heilongjiang River on the border
between Russia and China.
The Chinese and Russian sides have gathered nearly 3,000 figures
respectively this year on 40 indexes on chemical oxygen demand
(COD), contents of heavy metals, pesticides, and riverbed mud to
determine water quality.
It is the second joint operation this year since China and
Russia signed the Joint Monitoring Plan on Border Rivers in 2006,
after an explosion at a Chinese chemicals plant sent nitrobenzene
and other chemicals into the Songhua River that flows into the
Heilongjiang River in 2005.
The plan requires both sides to operate the testing program for
five years from 2007. The first such test was carried out in June
this year.
It was reported that water quality in three rivers -
Heilongjiang, Wusuli and Songhua rivers has improved compared to
the same period last year.
The Chinese government launched an 13.3 billion yuan (US$1.8
billion) water pollution prevention plan along the Songhua River in
2006 and relevant departments have conducted intense inspection on
pollution outlets along the river.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2007)
