Water quality of a river in Guangdong Province, which was contaminated by hydrochloric acid leak Sunday, is now within in the national standard for surface water after treatment, local government sources said Monday.

A tank truck carrying 26 tonnes of hydrochloric acid overturned 5:50 a.m. on Sunday near Wujing township, Nanxiong city. Leaked hydrochloric acid contaminated farmland and a section of nearby Zhenjiang River, authorities said Monday.

No casualties were reported after the truck overturned, said a spokesman for the city of Nanxiong.8 The hydrochloric acid, with a concentration of 31 percent, spilled onto nearby farmland and then rainwater carried it 20 meters away into the Zhenjiang River, said the spokesman.

The city government sent two cranes to remove the truck and 10 tonnes of alkali to neutralize the acid, and local residents have been informed not to drink water or eat dead fish from the river.

The water quality had been within national standards as of 6 p.m. Sunday, according to the spokesman.

Fatigued driving was suspected to have caused the accident, an initial investigation shows.
 

Source:english.sepa.gov