Chinese brewery, distillery closed over river pollution scare

China has closed a brewery and distillery that polluted a river with grain waste, which fermented into sticky, yellow globs and frightened residents.

China has closed down a brewery and distillery that polluted a river with grain waste, which then fermented into sticky, yellow globs and frightened residents following a spate of chemical spills, the government said on Friday.

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A nearby butchering plant was also closed for polluting the Hailang River, a major drinking water source for Mudanjiang, a northeastern city of 80,000 people.

A spill of the dangerous chemical benzene into the nearby Songhua River in November prompted authorities to cut water supplies to millions of people in the area, and in neighboring Russia. The incident triggered a nationwide crackdown on industrial polluters.