Yellow Sea under threat from Dalian oil spill
- Source: Global Times
- [02:26 July 20 2010]
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A fishing boat berths in seawater polluted by crude oil in Dalian's Xingang Harbor Monday.Photo: CFP
By Deng Jingyin in Dalian and Chen Rui in Beijing
The cleanup of oil off the port city of Dalian, caused by pipeline explosions Friday night, is expected to take at least 10 days, State Oceanic Administration officials said Monday, but environmentalists say the ecological implications of the spill could last more than 10 years.
The amount of crude oil that had spilled into the sea was still unknown Monday, but China Central Television reported that the leak was estimated at 1,500 tons.
More than one-third of the crude spilled had been collected as of Monday afternoon, three days after the explosions occurred. Marine safety departments had collected 260 tons of leaked oil from a 10-square-kilometer area of the most seriously polluted seawaters off Xingang Harbor, while fishery departments claimed to have collected another 280 tons from less-polluted areas.
Luan Yuxuan, deputy director of the Dalian City Oceanic and Fishery Administration, said Monday that strong onshore winds had helped contain the dark brown belt of pol-luted area to 45 square kilometers Sunday, from an original 50 square kilometers.
Liu Fenglin, director of the press office of the North China Sea Branch of the State Oceanic Administration, said that the cleanup wouldn't be finished within 10 days, denying previous reports.
He stressed that the tide will carry the oil, making the polluted area larger, but the cleanup vessels must start in the most contaminated area.
The Dalian municipal government had vowed to finish the work within five days to avoid further contamination of the sea.
So far, 34 oil-cleaning vessels have been mobilized to load oil-absorbing and dispersant materials in the most polluted area, and more than 800 fishing boats have also joined the campaign to clean up the widespread oil.
Xingang Harbor was closed Monday for the investigation, with a noticeable yellow cordon blocking off the oil-tank area, and no media access was granted. The paths leading to the beach were also guarded.
The Global Times found that the oil had covered stones and washed up onto the sandy beaches near the explosion, blanketing some surfaces in many centimeters of crude.
Thick black smoke could also still be seen gushing Monday from the oil tank where the explosion occurred.
"All major fires at the site have now been extinguished. The oil left in the oil tank is being burnt in order to clean the site," a port staff member working on the scene told the Global Times, refusing to give his name.
Nearly 100 fire engines were stationed at Xingang Harbor to prevent further complications. A fireman surnamed Tian, with his face covered in oil, said that he had been working for three days and nights with little sleep.
