Two dams in Guangdong have been closed to contain the cadmium slick in the Beijiang, or North River, discharged by a smelting plant upstream.
The Baishiyao dam at Yingde and the Feilaixia dam, halfway between Yingde and Qingyuan , have been shut to prevent the slick from spreading downstream to Foshan and Guangzhou, the China Daily reported yesterday.
More than 1,000 tonnes of materials highly contaminated with cadmium spilled into the river, due to mishandling during regular maintenance at the Shaoguan county smelting plant on December 16, according to Xinhua.
Workers at the plant spent only one day on regular maintenance procedures that normally required three days.
Factory head Zhang Weijian has been suspended while the matter is investigated, Xinhua said.
The Shaoguan smelting plant is a subsidiary of the listed Shenzhen Nonfemet Technology Company.
