Yellow River oil spill

Yellow River oil spill
Location	Weinan, Shaanxi, China
Coordinates	34°36′42″N 110°17′20″E / 34.6117°N 110.289°E / 34.6117; 110.289Coordinates: 34°36′42″N 110°17′20″E / 34.6117°N 110.289°E / 34.6117; 110.289
Date	30 December 2009
Cause
Cause	Rupture of the Lanzhou-Zhengzhou oil pipeline
Operator	China National Petroleum Corporation
Spill characteristics
Volume	150,000 l (40,000 US gal)
Shoreline impacted	> 100 km

The Yellow River oil spill was an oil spill in the Yellow River in Shaanxi, China which took place due to the rupturing of a segment of Lanzhou-Zhengzhou oil pipeline on December 30, 2009. Approximately 150,000 l (40,000 US gal) of diesel oil flowed down the Wei River before finally reaching the Yellow River, the source of drinking water for millions of people, on January 4, 2010.^[1][2]

Background

The Lanzhou-Zhengzhou oil pipeline project was approved in 2007 and opened for operation in March 2009. It is a part of the 2,070 km (1,290 mi)-long Lanzhou-Zhengzhou-Changsha pipeline with a capacity of transporting 15 million tons of oil per year.^[3] According to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the rupture took place on December 30, 2009 due to an accident near Weinan where construction was underway by third-party workers.^[2] However, the incident was not publicized until January 3, 2010.^[4] The deputy director of the Yellow River Water Resources Commission called for an investigation into the accident, refuting CNPC's claim that the accident was caused by third-party construction workers.^[5]

Spill control efforts

About 150,000 litres of diesel had already leaked out before the pipeline was closed by CNPC. According to Pacific Environment China's co-director Wen Bo, 700 workers were quickly mobilized by the government to control the spill as soon as its occurrence became known.^[2] They dug diversion channels and built floating dams to stop the pollutant from advancing further downstream. Solidifying chemicals were also used to remove the fuel from the stream.^[6] Despite these efforts, officials found traces of diesel in the Yellow River on January 4, 2010, 200 km upstream of Zhengzhou.^[1] No pollution was detected downstream of Sanmenxia, although the Sanmenxia reservoir was found to contain traces of toxic diesel.^[7] Sanmenxia Dam and its six hydroelectric generators were shut down to prevent the flow of pollutant further downstream.^[8] On 5 January, Zhang Xun, an official of the Ministry of Environmental Protection confirmed that the spill had been contained in the Sanmenxia reservoir and was no longer a threat to the river water downstream.^[9][10]

See also

• Global storm activity of 2010
• 2010 China floods

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "China water warning as oil spill hits Yellow River". BBC News. 4 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8438362.stm. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Jessie Jiang (4 January 2010). "After Oil Spill, China's Polluted Rivers in Spotlight". Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1951412,00.html?xid=rss-topstories. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
3. ^ "China Lanzhou-Zhengzhou oil pipeline in operation". Reuters. March 31, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/idINPEK17778220090331. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
4. ^ Watts, Jonathan (4 January 2010). "Chinese environment officials fail to stop oil slick from polluting Yellow river". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/04/oil-spill-china-yellow-river. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
5. ^ "Spill spread may affect drinking water supply". Xinhua News. 5 January 2010. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/05/content_12759672.htm. Retrieved 5 January 2010. 
6. ^ "Hundreds battle river fuel spill". Press Association. 3 January 2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gq-HPshkoLztpV7VOxy5DCV6NYSw. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
7. ^ Browne, Andrew (4 January 2010). "Diesel Spill Contaminates Yellow River". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126260957898114829.html?mod=googlenews_wsj. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
8. ^ The Associated Press (January 5, 2010). "China Shuts Dam Generators Following Diesel Spill". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9479123. Retrieved 5 January 2010. 
9. ^ "China official says diesel spill 'basically contained' from moving downstream on Yellow River". The Canadian Press. 5 January 2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gBqiU-3l498My0cv78JfqUQuns3w. Retrieved 6 January 2010. 
10. ^ Guanqun, Wang (6 January 2009). "Weihe River pollution contained to reservoir". Xinhua News. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/06/content_12762832.htm. Retrieved 6 January 2010.