China Water: May 31, 2008: Earthquake relief news.

Two more water quality in the earthquake zone stories.

The second is a report of a Christian mission that has donated water purifiers to the China earthquake relief effort. I am not familiar with the mission or the news source, and am sharing it without further comment.

I was thinking the other day about how interesting it is that China is being so open to foreign aid. In the early 1960s, due to the failure of collectivized farming, China was hit by widespread famine. Many estimate that during this time, between 20 and 30 million people died due to lack of food. That is, by comparison, roughly the population of New York State, and people who die of starvation do not die easily or quickly. It was a terrible thing. Not only did the Chinese government not seek foreign aid, they actually successfully repressed the story so that news of the famine did not reach the west for some time.

How things change.

Peter Huston

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/31/content_8287137.htm


Overall environmental quality stable, water quality potable in quake-hit Sichuan
www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-31 00:31:37

BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The overall environmental quality in China's earthquake-ravaged southwestern Sichuan Province has remained "stable" and water quality eligible for drinking, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Friday.

The ministry has stepped up its efforts on the monitoring of the hard-hit areas, including the province's Shifang City, and has taken measures to eliminate potential risks, it said in a statement on its Website.

A quake-induced burst of a dam of pyrites belonging to the Sichuan Huangjia Group in Jiangyou City in hard-hit Mianyang City has been under control, according to the ministry.

Samples from three sections of the dam indicated there were no traces of poisonous elements, including copper, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, lead or chromium VI.

The ministry's eight inspection groups have checked 20 key companies in the Shifang chemical industrial park, spotting about 3,000 tonnes of hazardous chemicals, including yellow phosphorus, concentrated sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid and ammonia, as well as chemical sewage discharge risks.

These companies have been ordered to rectify their management, according to the ministry.

So far, 15,164 people have been mobilized in Sichuan to conduct inspection on environmental risks. During the inspection of 14,357enterprises, including 2,949 chemical firms, they spotted 134 potential risks with 28 having been dealt with.

Altogether, 49,421 people have been mobilized in 13 provincial-level areas, including Shaanxi, Gansu and Chongqing. Ministry figures show it spotted 68 major risks in the inspection of 21,906 enterprises with 54 of them having been rectified.
Editor: Mu Xuequan



http://www.earnedmedia.org/wmi0530.htm

Earthquake Survivors in China Receive Another Six Water Purification Systems from Water Missions International

Contact: Lindsay M. Wine, Water Missions International (WMI), 843-442-4401

CHARLESTON, South Carolina, May 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- Water Missions International (WMI) deployed six water purification systems to earthquake-ravaged China late Wednesday, May 28. The systems were airlifted by FedEx at no cost to WMI and are expected to reach Shanghai tomorrow. Upon arrival in Shanghai, the systems will be transported into Chengdu to the areas of greatest need. WMI's International Project Director, Andre Mergenthaler, has been on the ground in China leading a water resource team of engineers and technicians through installation and operation of systems previously deployed for this disaster relief effort. Since the disaster struck, WMI, in cooperation with Samaritan's Purse, has deployed a total of 12 water systems to China. Six of those systems are now set up and operational in Luoshi, Yinghua, Lungji, and Mianzhu, towns with a total population of 29,000 people. Each water system is assembled by volunteer labor, provides a continuous supply of approximately 10,000 gallons per day, and can be rapidly deployed and installed in only a few hours to purify available surface and shallow well water sources in disaster affected areas.

A deadly, 8.0-magnitude earthquake shook China's Sichuan province on Monday, May 12, affecting 45 million people. To date, the quake and its aftershocks have claimed more than 66,000 lives and left more than a quarter of a million people injured. Weeks after the disaster, millions of people are still homeless and in desperate need of food, shelter, and clean, safe water.

"We are entering into a new disaster season," says Danya Jordan, WMI's VP of Development. "As a ministry, WMI steps out in faith when responding to these terrifying situations. Funding is currently, and will continue to be, one of our most urgent needs," Jordan explains. "Please consider supporting WMI in our efforts to provide safe, clean water to people around the world." For more information on how to help, please contact Danya Jordan at (843)769-7395 or djordan@watermissions.org. Donations are also accepted online at www.watermissions.org.

About WMI:
Water Missions International (WMI) is a nonprofit, Christian engineering organization based in Charleston, SC. WMI's mission is to provide sustainable access to safe water and an opportunity to hear the "Living Water" message in developing countries and disaster areas. Assistance is provided regardless of age, sex, race, or faith. To date, WMI has deployed a total of 591 water systems in 36 countries worldwide and two U.S. states, making safe water available to more than one million people. Visit us at www.watermissions.org.