By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry has sent a protest note to China over a spillage from a chemical facility in northeast China, near the Russian border, which killed at least three people earlier on Friday.
Local authorities have not yet given details on the facility, the cause of the spill, or the type of chemicals that have leaked into the surrounding area, located in the Heilongjiang province.
“Unfortunately, the Chinese side has provided us with no official information, which is a violation of an agreement signed between the Natural Resources Ministry and China’s Environmental Committee,” Minister Yury Trutnev said.
A local administration source said the spill was caused by the explosion of WWII ammunition.
Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said the spill posed no danger to Russia, but Oleg Mitvol, deputy chief of the Russian environmental watchdog, said the spill had occurred near the city of Qiqihaer, some 400 kilometers (some 250 miles) from the Russian border.
The city lies along the Nin River, a major tributary of the Songhua River, which flows into Russia.
The reports have provoked fears in the province of a major environmental disaster.
A November 2005 explosion at a plant owned by the Jilin Petroleum and Chemical Company caused 100 metric tons of potentially lethal benzene to spill into the Songhua River.
The spillage caused substantial environmental damage in Russia’s Far East, as a huge slick of chemicals was carried along the Amur River, eventually spilling into the Sea of Okhotsk. China delayed informing Russia about the incident for several days.