December 23, 2005
IF IT'S FRIDAY, IT MUST BE CADMIUM:
2nd toxic spill poses threat; benzene hits Russian city (Chicago Tribune, December 23, 2005)
China's government rushed Thursday to shield the country's southern business center, Guangzhou, from a toxic spill of cadmium flowing toward the city of 7 million--the second manmade disaster to hit a Chinese river in six weeks.Posted by Orrin Judd at December 23, 2005 6:06 PM
Well, it seems that "Cuyahoga" translates to "Bei" in Chinese. At least it hasn't caught fire.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at December 23, 2005 6:18 PMYuck. Benzene is nasty stuff, but at least it evaporates. Cadmium will probably settle rapidly, but that means it'll be in the riverbed to be stirred up for who knows how long...
Posted by: Mike Earl at December 23, 2005 7:01 PMArticle in the WSJ about chromium 6 today too. Marxist enviromentalism.
Posted by: jdkelly at December 23, 2005 7:46 PMGuangzhou (population closer to 10 million, I believe) is the major population and manufacturing center of southern China. It is about 100 miles up the Pearl River from Hong Kong (population 7 million). Shenzhen (immediately upriver from Hong Kong) is another major manufacturing center (population 3 or 4 million). The Pearl River is a major river, and can quickly transport chemicals downriver. Most (if not all) of Hong Kong's water supply comes from the Pearl River, if I am not mistaken. Thus we are talking about potentially engangering the water supply for 20 million plus people. I'm not generally a doomsday kinda guy, but this is getting worrisome, if the reporting is accurate.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at December 24, 2005 12:07 AMStill awaiting a major Hollywood production about government corruption in China causing major environmental damage. Where's Jane Fonda when you need her?
Posted by: Randall Voth at December 24, 2005 3:43 AMAfter you go to Wal-Mart and buy some cheap crap from China, don't put it in your mouth.
Posted by: AllenS at December 24, 2005 5:10 AM