Cadmium and thallium are unwelcome names in present-day China, although they had not entered our everyday vocabulary until recently.

Yet the cadmium and thallium pollution in some parts of the Hejiang River in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has not caused panic either locally or downstream in Guangdong province.

The local authorities' quick emergency response and timely information sharing have contributed greatly to the successful management of the crisis. We hope this will inspire more authorities, higher and lower alike, to be more open and efficient when faced with similar scenarios.