On November 13, 2005 in Jilin (China), an explosion in the Petrochemical Corporation plant released 100 tons of a mixture containing benzene, nitrobenzene and aniline into the Songhua River, a tributary of the Amur River. At the height of the pollution, the proportion of benzene in the water exceeded 100 times the maximum tolerated level.
Over the months, the slick of pollution reached the Sea of Okhotsk around January 23, polluting in its path the waters of the longest Russian river on the banks of which many indigenous peoples live who only make a living from fishing.
Their activity therefore reduced considerably as fishermen had to go up the tributaries to find healthy fish. The water turned out to be unfit for consumption and the harmful consequences on the health of local residents were minimized by the government.
In September 2006, I traveled to the Far East to the banks of the Amur to take stock of the sensitive situation in this disaster-stricken region.