Update | Water supplies return to Lanzhou after benzene spill, but residents are wary
Authorities warn that 'danger is not yet over' and benzene contamination could occur again
Water supplies returned to normal in the western city of Lanzhou yesterday, but the city government warned residents there was a "danger" of more interruptions in future.
"The danger is not over yet," officials said in a statement released in the name of the Lanzhou emergency taskforce.
On Friday, 2.4 million residents in the capital of Gansu province were warned by the government not to use tap water after tests showed excessive levels of carcinogenic benzene in the city's water supply.
[The water] still has a strange smell. I won't drink it. I won't even touch it
Residents reacted cautiously to the resumption of water and refused to use it directly from the tap even though the government announced that readings of water quality had returned to within national safety standards.
"I don't believe a single thing they [the government] say about the water, and I am not using tap water," said a public servant who declined to be named.
"The water smells less strong than it did in March, but it still has a strange smell. I won't drink it. I won't even touch it."
Tests on Friday showed benzene levels had reached 200 micrograms per litre - 20 times the national safety standard.