china oil spill

A Greenpeace activist surveys the damage to the oil spill at the port of China Dalian in Lionizing province 21st July. From Tuesday, 40 special "oil-skimming vessels, 800 vessels and oil-eating bacteria had joined the fight in cleanup.

The estimated size of an oil slick off the north-east coast of China doubled Wednesday, as workers raced against the clock to contain a growing environmental disaster. Oil is now spread over some 165 square miles of water, according to Chinese officials. For comparison, but this is far from the extent of BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at 2,700 square miles of the visible surface smooth estimated according to the Associated Press at the 16th July. Square miles above the surface (see interactive map of BOP spill from the New York Times here).