CCP warns against cover-ups

Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) visited Harbin three days later and promised to investigate the disaster, though he didn't say whether authorities would take action on the failure to inform the public promptly -- the biggest complaint by environmentalists and ordinary Chinese.

In Jiamusi, where the slick arrived on Tuesday, the government is conducting tests for benzene every hour on water drawn from wells, the city's main water source, the city administration's secretary, Zhang Danhong, told reporters.

Jiamusi shut down some wells used by its main water plant last Friday because they were deemed to be too close to the river and authorities were worried about contamination.

A new water plant that draws groundwater from wells farther from the river was rushed into operation ahead of schedule on Monday, and Zhang said it should be sufficient to meet the city's needs until the slick passes.

The city of 480,000 people has so far budgeted 8.1 million yuan (US$1 million) for measures meant to deal with the contamination, Zhang said.

The figure adds to the mounting economic toll from the disaster.

Upstream, Harbin's city government is borrowing 640 million yuan to cope with the spill's aftermath, according to state media.