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A blast at a chemical plant in November 2005 in Jilin City, Jilin Province, spilled some 100 tons of toxic chemicals (mainly benzene, which levels were 108 times above national safety levels) into the Songhua River, forming a toxic slick, which at its peak extended 80 kilometers. The toxic slick plagued millions of residents living along the downstream sections of the river. Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province with an urban population of nearly 4 million, was forced to cut off its water supply for four days. More than 300 residents of Niujiadian village, Songpu County, in Harbin were relocated for more than a month in several city's hotels. It's not clear the meaning of that action: the village is on the opposite bank of the river where lays the 5 million city of Harbin. In spring 2006 rumors had warned that the problem could become worse when ice, that have trapped some of the pollution melt, thaws and flows again along the river. But China government in April 2006 claims there are no problem at all and, anyway, would spend 1.2 billion dollars to clean up the polluted Songhua Rive, its third biggest river. *** Local Caption *** An unemployed have a rest on the beach along the river during a sunny day.