China rushed Friday to remove radioactive and chemical materials sitting downstream from a "quake lake" that threatens to burst and send torrents of water into heavily populated areas. Nearly 100 unidentified radioactive sources were ordered to be removed by Friday evening from the path of the potential torrent of water, state press reported, citing the nation's environmental protection bureau. "Moving those radioactive sources has become a top, urgent priority," the Beijing Times quoted Ma Ning, a senior regional official at the bureau, as saying.
The directive to move the radioactive material came as authorities were already working to relocate about 5,000 tonnes of dangerous chemicals that were downstream of the lake at Tangjiashan.