China

China rushes to remove radioactive materials below 'quake lake'

Article published on the 2008-05-30 Latest update 2008-05-30 15:11 TU

A man is evacuated from Youxian District of Mianyang, Sichuan province
(Photo: Reuters)

Chinese emergency workers are struggling to remove radioactive materials from under a lake that was created after landslides triggered by the devastating 12 May Sichuan earthquake formed a dam across a river in a valley. Authorities have ordered 1.3 million people living in the area to evacuate, while crews are working around the clock to drain the lake and relocate 5,000 tons of chemicals in Tangjiashan.

The lake contains enough water to fill over 50,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. China Daily reported that workers had dug a 50-metre-wide trench 300 metres long but that the work will not be completed before next Thursday.

Earlier this month the authorities claimed that nuclear facilities were safe.

It is not the only area of Sichuan at risk, according to official Xinhua news agency. Of the 33 lakes created by the quake, 28 were at the risk of bursting.

The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety in France indicated that a manufacturing site for nuclear weapons and a nuclear reactor were in the quake-damaged zone.

In related news, China is also planning to conduct safety inspections in schools in the area after distraught parents protested that the schools were unsafe and poorly made because of corruption. In areas affected by the quake, surrounding structures remained standing while school buildings were completely destroyed.

In one school alone in Mianyang city, more than 1,300 children and teachers are dead or missing.

The official death toll has reached 68,858, according to officials, while another 18,858 are missing.

China's regional rival Japan has reached out yet again to the devastated country in the aftermath of the earthquake by doubling its aid contribution.