China's official media say a toxic spill that caused China's second major environment scare in a span of weeks should be safely diluted before the affected river water reaches major cities.
The Xinhua news agency reports Monday that local officials say cadmium levels in the Bei River have already dropped close to safe levels.
Officials expect the river water to be safe before it reaches Guangzhou -- a city of about 10-million people.
More than a thousand metric tons of cadmium were dumped into the river by a zinc smelter on December 15th.
Since then, authorities have used chemicals and opened reservoirs to dilute it. The government has closed the smelting plant and the facility's director was relieved of his post Thursday.
Information for this report is provided by AP and Reuters.
