VietNamNet Bridge - The Yen Bai province Natural Resources and Environment Department has taken samples of the Red River for testing and advised locals to limit their direct use of the river water.

The moves were made yesterday following a report from the local environmental police warning that the river water is tainted with harmful chemicals.

The provincial Environmental Police Department recently reported that the content of lead (Pb) and cadimi (Cd) in the river water had exceeded limits by 7.4 times and 5.15 times respectively.

Water samples for testing have been taken from the river section that flows into Yen Bai and from some other locations within the province to identify the origin and the scope of the pollution, said Nguyen Van Khanh, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The samples have been delivered to a testing unit in Hanoi for analysis, Mr. Khanh said.

In case the polluting source is inside the province, the authorities will inspect mineral exploiting sites there, he said.

The department asked local authorities to warn residents about the pollution and advise them to constrain their use of water from the river, the official said.

The Red River section in the northern province is 94 km long, running through Yen Bai City and two districts: Van Yen and Tran Yen.

Source: Tuoi Tre