VLADIVOSTOK, January 6 (RIA Novosti, Anatoly Ilyukhov) - The toxic slick in the Amur River passing through the Khabarovsk region in Russia's Far East now stretches over 200 kilometers (124 miles) and is 60 km from the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a source in the Emergencies Ministry said Friday.
The chemical slick arrived in Khabarovsk on December 22.
"Eighty-three samples have been taken from the Amur over a 24-hour period for laboratory analysis. They have been delivered to the Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Amursk laboratories. Analyses of water samples on January 5 showed that the concentration of nitrobenzene and other chemicals in the river in the zone of the slick does not exceed the maximum permissible level," the source said.
About 100 metric tons of chemicals, including potentially lethal benzene, spilled into the Songhua River, a tributary of the Amur, after an explosion on November 13 at a Chinese petrochemical plant.
Local authorities continue to implement safety measures. Komsomolsk-on-Amur, home to 280,000, has so far obtained 151.5 metric tons of absorbent carbon to purify the water. Patrol groups are ensuring no fishing takes place in the area.
More than 650 metric tons of absorbent carbon was sent to Khabarovsk from China and the Urals city of Perm.
