Chinese authorities said today they had controlled a leak of toxic heavy metal into a river, after media outlets reported that officials had known about the incident for days.

An emergency response was launched after detecting “abnormal water quality” in a section of the Lei River, officials in the central city of Chenzhou said on Sunday, without giving further details.

In a rare move, multiple news outlets later reported that authorities knew about elevated levels of thallium, a potentially harmful heavy metal, in the river as early as March 16.

The Chenzhou city government admitted that thallium concentrations were at least 13 times higher than normal on that day, in a further statement today, but said the incident “has now been controlled”.

Thallium is a tasteless, odourless heavy metal that can damage the nerves, liver, kidneys and other human tissues when consumed in significant quantities.

According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, river monitoring stations first detected the leak in a stretch of river between Chenzhou and nearby Hengyang, a city home to 6.5 million people in Hunan province.

The incident “caused inter-city pollution and threatened the safety of downstream drinking water”, the state-backed news outlet said. It added that officials quietly launched an emergency response the following day, seeking to “eradicate… the danger and uphold social stability”.

Authorities did not disclose the incident until Sunday’s statement, which said local water was “safe” to drink but did not provide details of the leak or the scope of the government’s response.

One resident who lives near an affected stretch of the Lei River, in Leiyang, told AFP today that her family has continued to use water from the tap despite health concerns.

“We’re definitely afraid,” 37-year-old Xiaoshu, who asked to be identified by a nickname, told AFP over the phone. “It’s fine for us adults, but what if children or the elderly drink it? What if they get sick?”

The mother of two said she had heard about the contamination online through articles shared in group chats and videos posted to Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.

“Everybody’s been talking about it,” she said, but admitted that local authorities never directly notified her of any water contamination.

Despite worrying about the water’s safety, Xiaoshu, who sells fishing equipment, said she has bought some bottled water but can’t afford to turn off the tap.

“Our family’s economic situation is what it is,” she said. “Wealthy people can use bottled water, but for regular folks like us, we can only do that for the water we drink and use tap water for everything else.”

Today, the Chenzhou government blamed a local cement factory for the leak, saying rainwater had washed dust containing thallium from a recently dismantled kiln into the river.

It said emergency responders had controlled the pollution source and treated river water to remove the thallium, adding that concentrations had soon returned to normal in downstream areas.

China has cracked down on environmental pollution in recent years, but industrial contamination remains common in many parts of the country.

Media coverage of such incidents has also dried up since President Xi Jinping came to power over a decade ago and tightened the government’s grip on the press.

Some today took to social media to lament the delayed government response. “It’s truly terrifying, this serious of a situation covered up for this long, and it’s even scarier that people may not be aware of the severity of the situation”, one user commenting under a post about the contamination wrote.

“If we must die let’s die together”, read another comment.

PEKAN – Kerajaan negeri berharap Kementerian Ekonomi dapat menyegerakan peruntukan khas bagi menangani isu hakisan pantai di negeri ini yang sudah di tahap kritikal.

Exco Kerja Raya Pengangkutan dan Kesihatan Pahang, Datuk Ir. Razali Kassim berkata, hakisan sepanjang hampir satu kilometer itu sudah ‘memakan’ rizab jalan Persekutuan.

Menurutnya Kerajaan Negeri berharap isu berkenaan mendapat perhatian dan keutamaan sewajarnya ekoran kesan hakisan melibatkan aspek keselamatan yang boleh mengancam nyawa orang ramai.

“Banyak lokasi pantai terjejas kerana pantai di negeri ini panjang, namun keadaan di hakisan pantai Sungai Api-api bertambah serius.

Menurutnya hakisan berkenaan di  jajaran FT03 Jalan Pekan – Nenasi Seksyen 255 bakal mengundang bahaya pengguna jalan di situ.

Tambah Ir. Razali perkara tersebut mendapat keprihatinan Sultan Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah yang menzahirkan kebimbangan terhadap isu hakisan pantai yang semakin kritikal di negeri ini.

“Semalam pun Tuanku sekali lagi bertitah supaya perkara ini disegerakan,” tambahnya.

Jelas beliau, kedudukan pantai yang terbuka dan terdedah secara terus memberi kesan lebih-lebih lagi terjadi kejadian air pasang setiap kali musim monsun.

“Memang kawasan ini terdedah laut yang terbuka, terdedah kerana pantai kita di Pahang panjangnya 2 98 kilometer.

“Bahkan pa  ntai dari Kelantan hingga Johor terkesan disebabkan hakisan ombak kecuali kawasan yang mempunyai pulau

Terdahulu pihak Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS) Pahang telah memohon  peruntukan khas untu , penyuburan pantai (beach nourishment) dan lampu suar (beacon light). – MalaysiaGazette

KARACHI, Pakistan (Bernama-Anadolu): Air pollution may impair brain health in older adults, according to new research from Taiwan.

A new study released by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University found that air pollution may stimulate the immune system through smell, triggering inflammation, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) quoted the Taipei-based Central News Agency on Tuesday.

Using models to estimate 10-year air pollution levels, the researchers studied 412 adults, age 60 and older, living in rural and urban areas. They also did cognitive tests and MRI scans to analyze changes in their brain structure.

The MRI scans also showed structural changes in brain regions responsible for attention and memory when the pollutants' concentrations decreased.

Air pollution, according to Yi-Fang Chuang, an associate professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Public Health Institute, is a risk factor for impaired cognitive function.

She said the study helps clarify the relationship between air pollution and brain health in older adults.

Improving air quality, she added, can promote brain health and cognitive function in older adults, delaying the risk of dementia. - Bernama-Anadolu

SIBU (March 25): The state government needs to conduct a detailed study into the key causes of floods in the Rajang River basin and implement targeted solutions.

In making this call, Sibu MP Oscar Ling said the current flood control plan here only covers the urban areas, excluding the outskirts area, particularly the West Bank and Salim areas, making the coverage insufficient.

“If Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg aims to transform Sibu into an ‘Amsterdam’, the flood control plan must be expanded,” he said in a press statement.

Ling stated that this year, Sibu has experienced three floods thus far, with the most recent one being dubbed as ‘unprecedented’.

In this regard, he stressed the serious need to examine upstream development, deforestation, and the dredging of bottlenecked river sections.

“The government needs to issue more sand dredging licences as well as establish cooperative system with dredging businesses, where companies can extract sand for free, in exchange for assisting in river dredging.

“I believe this is a win-win strategy and is more sustainable,” he added.

He also noted that dredging the Rajang River should not be a one-time project, but must be conducted periodically and continuously for effective results.

“Past experiences have shown that a single dredging operation is insufficient, as silt accumulated again within months,” he said.

Adding on, Ling stated that the current flood mitigation efforts in Sibu should not stop at the five-phase flood control plan, but must also focus on preserving the Rajang River.

This, he said, includes controlling upstream development and regularly clearing the river channels.

He believes that adopting a ‘sponge city’ concept should be the future direction for Sibu’s urban infrastructure development, and addressing these key areas are crucial to effectively mitigate Sibu’s flooding issues.

Furthermore, Ling was disappointed that the Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) and Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) appeared to be ‘absent’ during the recent severe floods.

“In flood-stricken areas under their jurisdiction, such as the West Bank, Jalan Apollo and Jalan Ling Kai Cheng areas, there were no visible red-and-white warning tapes to mark hazardous zones.

“Many roads were submerged, making it difficult to distinguish between road and drains.

“SMC and SRDC should always be prepared for flooding, and when it happens, their officers should immediately set up warning signs and barriers to prevent vehicles from accidentally driving into drains,” he said.

On another note, the MP will also continue to pressure the state government to release disaster relief funds to repay the collapsed road and slopes in Rantau Panjang Jaya Lane 7and 12, which were affected by a landslide last Feb 4.

Since then, a total of 43 landslide victims from 10 families had been staying at the evacuation centre at the nearby Kampung Bahagia Jaya Civic Centre.