Death toll hits 48 as rescue continues in E China blast (3)

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Death toll hits 48 as rescue continues in E China blast (3)

(Xinhua) 09:39, November 24, 2013

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

The Qingdao Environmental Protection Bureau, the city's environmental watchdog, said on Saturday that it is overseeing clean-up efforts. The blasts have caused oil spills that extend 1,000 square meters on the road and 3,000 meters on the sea.

The bureau is monitoring air quality in and around the blast areas and sea waters.

The bureau is also seeking qualified institutions to safely dispose of the leaked oil collected from the ground and sea.

It said the air quality monitored at two sites around the blast areas had not deteriorated and is "far below" a pre-set redline.

Monitoring also showed that sea water within 200 meters of the shoreline was covered in dispersed oily layers, which thinned further away from shore.

The Qingdao Maritime Safety Administration said it is using barricades running 3,000 meters long and 10 tons of dispersant to clean up spills that have contaminated 3,000 square meters of sea water.

The administration has also dispatched 22 oil-clearing vessels, 10 fishing boats and six patrolling vessels to help clean up crude oil that spilled into the sea.

AGED PIPELINE

Earlier media reports have linked the explosion to an oil pipeline that Sinopec put into operation in August.

However, the company refuted the claim on Saturday through its microblog, saying that the ruptured pipeline has been in use since July 1986.

The leaking pipeline measures 711 mm in diameter and runs 248.52 km, with an annual oil transfer capacity of 10 million tons, the company said on its microblog.

It is unknown how the spill and blasts will affect Sinopec's two oil refineries in east China's Shandong Province, one of which is located in Qingdao.