China chemical spill taints city's water supply

Carbolic acid spilled into river supplying drinking water to Hangzhou, home to 9 million people
Customers stock up on bottled water in Hangzhou
Customers stock up on bottled water in a Hangzhou supermarket. Photograph: Steven Shi/Reuters

Carbolic acid spilled into a river that supplies drinking water to the Chinese city of Hangzhou, knocking out supplies to more than half a million people in the suburbs and creating a run on bottled water in the city of 9 million.

A tanker truck carrying 20 tons of the caustic chemical overturned late on Saturday night. The chemical, also known as phenol, was washed by rain into the Xin'an river about 90 miles (145km) south-west of Hangzhou, the city government said in a report on its website.


The concentration of carbolic acid near the accident site remained at more than 900 times the safe drinking level on Monday, the report said.


Despite reassurances that drinking water in Hangzhou itself was safe, residents rushed to buy bottled water, leaving shelves in some supermarkets empty.

Hangzhou is known for its scenic West Lake district, its tea plantations and for picturesque mountains that ring the city. City officials are said to be planning to apply for it to be designated a UN world heritage site.

Hangzhou is also a major centre for textile manufacturing and the capital of Zhejiang province, one of China's most affluent and industrial regions.

The spill follows recent reports of lead poisoning of dozens of people caused by emissions from battery manufacturers based north-east of the city. That case came amid a widening crackdown on heavy metals pollution that resulted in the shutdown of hundreds of factories.