CNPC Blamed for Contaminating China City’s Water, Xinhua Says

Chinese investigators traced the source of a chemical that contaminated the water supply of 2.4 million people to a leak from an oil pipeline run by a unit of China National Petroleum Corp., the Xinhua News Agency said.

Crude oil leaked from the pipeline into the water source of a water plant in Lanzhou, a city 1,700 kilometers (1,100 miles) northwest of Shanghai, Xinhua reported today, citing Yan Zijiang, Lanzhou’s environmental protection chief. The seepage sent benzene, a carcinogenic compound used to manufacture plastics, into the city’s water supply, Xinhua said.