BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese officials have played down concerns of a toxic chemical slick floating toward a major city, saying emergency measures and water from other rivers would ensure safe drinking supplies.
The cities of Guangzhou, close to Hong Kong, and Foshan had been put on alert over the spill of cadmium from a smelting works that has been flowing down the Beijiang river, China's second environmental crisis in weeks.
Officials on Wednesday ordered the gates of a dam to be lowered to help block the slick, and also released water from reservoirs into the flow to dilute the amount of the chemical.
