Toxic barrels retrieved from river en route to Russiat

Efforts are underway to recover hundreds of barrels of hazardous chemicals which are floating down a Chinese river towards Russia.

Moscow is concerned about the possible consequences should the toxic material cross the border. But the Chinese side has said the authorities are taking all necessary measures, with several teams engaged in collecting barrels along the Songhuajiang river, Russia’s Emergency Ministry said.

“So far no changes in the water quality have been detected,” Ekaterina Potvorova, spokeswoman for the Far East regional center of the Emergencies Ministry told RT. “At the same time, Russian specialists have registered no changes in the water quality for the past several days in the two nearest regions.”

There is additional round-the-clock water-quality monitoring of the Amur River and, at present, there is no health risk for the people living in the area, Potvorova added.

Containers of an explosive liquid from a chemical plant in northern China were washed into a river on Thursday, posing a major environmental threat to both Russia and China.

 RT