E-Malt.com News article: China: Anheuser-Busch had suffered no impact from Harbin's poisoned water

US brewer Anheuser-Busch, the manufacture of the famous Budweiser beer, said recently it had suffered no impact from Harbin's poisoned water supplies because it was currently using 100 % well water and was not reliant on the city's river-sourced water supplies.

"Harbin's water shutdown has not significantly affected our beer production in Harbin," Alex Chiu, vice president at Anheuser-Busch's operations in Harbin, said in a statement.

"In fact, the City of Harbin asked our support in supplying fresh drinking water from the wells used at our two Harbin City breweries to citizens." Chiu said the company was supplying tankers that would travel throughout the city and deliver fresh drinking water.

A slick of carcinogenic benzene, caused by an explosion at a chemical plant in neighboring Jilin province on November 13, reached the outskirts of Harbin in the early hours of Thursday, the local government said. The benzene spilled into the Songhua river, which is the major water source for Harbin's 3.8 million urban residents, and took 11 days to flow the 380 kilometres (235 miles) to Harbin.


25 November, 2005