Oil Spill Reaches China's Yellow River

  • 14 years ago
On Monday we told you about a massive diesel oil spill into China’s Wei River—a tributary of the Yellow River. Well now that spill has actually reached the Yellow River.

The Yellow river is China’s second-longest waterway. It provides water for more than a hundred million people. Now, a part of it is contaminated.

The accident happened on Wednesday last week, when a pipeline owned by China National Petroleum Corporation ruptured, spilling up to 40,000 gallons of oil. The state-owned company blamed the spill on a construction company that’s building a project nearby.

About 700 workers were mobilized to dig diversion channels and build floating dams on Sunday to contain the spill, but that didn’t stop the oil from reaching the Yellow River.

Local environmental officials have warned people in Northern China not to use water from the Yellow River.