China quake dam to be breached
Updated
Chinese officials say work is about to start to drain a dangerous lake formed by the recent earthquake in South West Sichuan Province.
Soldiers and armed police have been working non-stop for ten days to dig a channel in the dam at Tangjiashan to drain the lake, which threatened to flood 1.3 million people downstream.
Amanda Morgan reports from Beijing the conservation group, Greenpeace says some destroyed chemical factories are near the lake.
Greenpeace is inspecting chemical factories damaged in the earthquake. But it says hundreds of factories may have been destroyed exposing hazardous material. These factories lie near a lake that could burst its banks and send torrents of water into populated areas.
Lo Sze Ping from Greenpeace says this would have devastating consequences because chemicals couldbe contaminating the water.
State media says authorities are also trying to remove radioactive material that lies downstream from the same lake.
There are also several nuclear facilities near the earthquake's epicentre, but authorities say the sites are safe.
