Xie Zhenhua, head of the ministry-level State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), quit his post and was replaced by Zhou Shengxian, former director of the State Forestry Administration, SEPA officials told AFP.

China Central Television, citing a document issued by the cabinet-level State Council, said Xie's resignation was directly linked to a November 13 benzene spill into the Songhua river that resulted in an 100 kilometermile) long toxic slick now floating downstream toward Russia.

"After this major water pollution incident occurred, (it was determined that) SEPA has failed to pay sufficient attention to the incident and underestimated its possible serious impact," a circular from the cabinet said.

"It should bear due responsibility for the losses caused by this incident."

The spill, which came after a massive explosion at a PetroChina chemical plant in Jilin city, resulted in a five-day cut of water supplies to the 3.8 million residents of Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, last week.

Earlier SEPA vice head Wang Yuqing angrily blamed officials in Jilin for failing to quickly report the spill, while lamenting that the blind pursuit of economic growth in China had led to 25 years of worsening environmental degradation.

"When a big pollution incident happens, the local environmental protection departments must promptly report the pollution situation to the agency," Wang said on the agency's website.

"We will not allow the cover-up of the truth. You cannot delay the report and delay prompt counter-measures."

Jilin officials covered up the disaster for nearly 10 days before informing the public. Wang said SEPA was investigating who ordered the cover-up.

He said the incident was partly the result of the unchecked economic development that has seriously damaged China's environment.

"At present, the blind pursuit of development in some localities is placing huge pressures on protecting the environment. The situation is extremely serious," Wang said.

"In some places, no one is paying attention to environmental protection work, no clear preparations are in place to address sudden and major environmental accidents, our work on emergency information and response is inadequate and our environmental emergency monitoring capacity is no good."

Meanwhile, China said it was closely monitoring the slick as it moved toward the Russian border and was cooperating with Russian authorities on a joint response to the spill.

Beijing had also given the go-ahead to UN environmental experts to monitor the situation.

"We will keep close cooperation with the Russian side so as to minimize the possible impact of the pollution on the Russian side," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told journalists Thursday.

Qin's remarks came as authorities said the chemical slick was moving more slowly down-river than expected, which could result in a long-term hazard as more of the benzene is deposited in the river bed or on the banks.

China has dispatched 150 tonnes of activated charcoal and six machines for express water analysis to Russia to help combat the toxic slick, a Chinese diplomat said Friday.

According to the Chinese authorities, the toxic slick is now 500 kilometers away from the shared Amur river that forms the border with Russia. It is expected to flow into the river, known in Chinese as the Heilong, from December 8.

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