Water pollution sickens thousands in north China

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

BEIJING — Contaminated drinking water has sickened more than 2,600 people in northern China, including 59 who were hospitalized with fevers, diarrhea, stomach aches and vomiting, state media reported Wednesday.

Heavy rains caused contaminants to seep into a water supply in Chifeng city in Inner Mongolia, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, without saying what the contaminants were.

Residents began reporting diarrhea and vomiting over the weekend and were treated at the local hospital, Xinhua reported. The contaminated well provided water for 58,000 of the city's 4.5 million residents, it said.

Calls to the Chifeng city government office rang unanswered Wednesday.

Although the government has taken measures to control water pollution, problems such as acid rain — caused by industrial pollution in the atmosphere — remain prevalent in many Chinese cities. Raw tap water is unsafe to drink, and most Chinese have to boil it before drinking.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jf2aNbvIvw_7qLNgC65D4qc0rWWAD99O1Q8G0

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on edit: changed source from "Ass" to "Associated Press". oops! :-)