First Details on China Oil Spill's Cause Emerge. By Cara Anna, AP, July 23, 2010. "The first details emerged on June 23 on the cause of China's largest reported oil spill, while environmentalists urged the government to do more to warn local residents of potential danger, saying children are playing still off nearby beaches. Chinese authorities gave no update on the size of the oil spill, which had spread over at least 165 square miles (430 square kilometers) of water after a pipeline at the busy northeastern port of Dalian exploded a week ago. The disaster has caused China to take a hard look at its ports, some of the busiest in the world. The explosion was caused when workers continued to inject desulfurizer into the pipeline after a tanker had finished unloading oil, according to a statement posted on the website of the State Administration of Work Safety… State media have said oil operations at the Xingang port have resumed... Officials have warned of a 'severe threat' to sea life and water quality as China's latest environmental crisis spread off the shores of Dalian, once named China's most livable city. One cleanup worker drowned this week, his body coated in crude. Cleanup workers have reported using chopsticks and their bare hands to remove the gooey oil from the sea, while state media said 2,000 soldiers, 40 oil-skimming boats and hundreds of fishing boats were helping with the cleanup... 'Greenpeace was ... surprised to see that the beaches have not been closed to visitors and lack any warning signs,' Greenpeace China said in a statement Friday evening. 'As a result, locals and visitors unaware of the extent of the oil spill were playing in the water with their kids, risking exposure to petroleum.'"
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