Chinas Worst Ever Oil Spill
Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by LynThomas in Business & Finance, Environment
China’s worst ever oil spill more than doubled in a week, closing beaches on the Yellow Sea. Environmental officials warned the black gooey crude oil posed a ‘severe threat’ to sea life and water quality.
Thirty metre high flames and the following crude oil spill closed China’s largest port, Dalian, once voted the most livable city in China. Fifteen hours elapsed before fire fighters were able to put the flames out.
One firefighter was dragged ashore by his colleagues, after drowning in the black goo. The body was completely coated in thick slippery oil. He had been attempting to fix an underwater pump, wearing only a pair of swimming trunks.
Forty oil skimming boats and around 800 fishing boats were deployed in the area to assist with the clean up. More than 15 kilometres of oil barriers have been set up.
“Our priority is to collect the spilled oil to reduce the possibility of contaminating international waters,” Dalian’s vice mayor, Dai Yulin.
The oil has spread over 165 square miles (430 square kilometers). State media says no more oil is leaking into the ocean. It has been estimated around 400,000 gallons of oil has spilled, which is minor compared to the 84 – 184 million gallons in the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
While the China oil spill is dwarfed by the BP spill, the greater danger in the China spill is that officials, oil company workers and volunteers have no protective clothing, as they attempt to clean the blackened beaches.
“We don’t have proper oil cleanup materials, so our workers are wearing rubber gloves and using chopsticks and straw mats,” an official with the Jinshitan Golden Beach Administration Committee told the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper, in apparent exasperation.
The cause of the explosion to the pipe line, owned by China National Petroleum Corp., is still not clear. CNPC is Asia’s biggest oil and gas producer by volume.
Keywords:chinas worst environmental disaster,china oil spill,pipe line explosion in china,firmeman drowned in china oil spill
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