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And a followup to a story we brought you yesterday. In Liuzhou City, in the Guangxi region, residents are grabbing all the bottled water they can after unsafe cadmium levels were found in their water supply. Authorities say the water is safe, but locals aren't taking any chances.
People in south China's Liuzhou City are rushing to buy bottled and canned water after a local river was reported to have been contaminated by cadmium.
Cadmium pollution was detected in the Liujiang River in the Guangxi region last Thursday. Cadmium is a chemical that can cause cancer and damage people's kidneys. It was found more than 10 days after the wastewater from a local mining firm polluted a tributary upstream of the Liujiang River.
A water test sample shows the river contains five times more cadmium than the safety standard. It's affecting more than three million people living nearby who have to rely on bottled water.
About 30 tons of bottled water has been sold every day in large and medium-sized supermarkets over the past few days, and some supermarkets sold up to 100 tons.
According to the latest water quality data released by local authorities, the cadmium content in the tainted river has been reduced to 0.004 milligram per liter and say it is safe to drink.
[...]
[Ms. Li, Liuzhou Citizen]:
"...We adults can drink it, but I am concerned about the kids. The bottled water is bought for him because he is not strong enough. Adults, anyway, can drink the running water."
The river was tainted by industrial waste discharged by a local mining company, increasing the cadmium concentration above standards set by the state. The contamination was found on January 15, and the government took measures to ensure water safety. It said the accident is now under control and no new discharges have been found.
