2010 China Oil spill in Dalian

1. Oil spill in Dalian, China, July 16th 2010

2. Oil spill in Dalian, China July 16th, in the northeastern port city of Dalian, China, two oil pipelines exploded, sending flames hundreds of feet into the air and burning for over 15 hours, destroying several structures - the cause of the explosion is under investigation. The damaged pipes released thousands of gallons of oil, which flowed into the nearby harbor and the Yellow Sea. The total amount of oil spilled is still not clear, though China Central Television earlier reported an estimate of 1,500 tons (400,000 gallons), as compared to the estimated 94 - 184 million gallons in the BP oil spill off the Louisiana coast. The oil slick has now grown to at least 430 square kilometers (165 sq mi), forcing beaches and port facilities to close while government workers and local fishermen work to contain and clean up the spill. Cleaning Dalian harbor The oil spill resulting from a pipeline explosion in the port city of Dalian on July 16th is being cleaned up by a small army of fisherman, locals, and government workers manning over 250 oil-skimming vessels and 8,000 fishing boats - much of the work being done by hand. The spill, now contained according to authorities, grew to 430 square kilometers (165 sq mi), but was prevented from fouling international waters. The explosion was due to improper desulfurizer injections into the pipeline, according to a report by Xinhua, China's state news agency. As workers continue their efforts and watchdog groups like Greenpeace level criticism for what they call an inadequate response to date, Dalian Port has already resumed operations at two of its oil berths, the company said on Sunday.

3. Firefighters walk near an oil pipeline blast site in Dalian, Liaoning province, China early on July 17, 2010. Firefighters later extinguished the fire that raged for more than 15 hours after two oil pipelines exploded in the port of Dalian, the Xinhua news agency said. (REUTERS/China Daily)

4. Firefighters arrive at an oil pipeline blast site in Dalian, a port city in northeast China. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Cai Yongjun)

5. Firefighters walk toward flames towering from a pipeline explosion at a Chinese port of Dalian on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (AP Photo)

6. Residual flames and smoke pour from the installation after Chinese firefighters battled a blaze which burned for 15 hours at a port in Dalian, China on July 17, 2010. More than 2,000 firefighters were mobilized to tackle the spectacular blaze, state media reported. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

7. The photo taken on July 18, 2010 shows firemen taking break after extinguishing an oil pipeline blaze at a port in Dalian, China. Dozens of oil-skimming vessels were working to remove a growing slick in the water off the port city following a weekend pipeline explosion and fire. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

8. Chinese firemen rest after battling a blaze at a port in Dalian, China on July 17, 2010. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

9. An aerial photo, released by China's Xinhua news agency on July 17, 2010, shows an oil slick floating off the coast of Dalian, China. Efforts were under way to contain and clean up a large oil slick after pipeline explosions at the northeastern Chinese port sent greasy black plumes into the ocean, state media reported. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Tian Jingyue)

10. This photo released by Greenpeace shows oil washing ashore near the port of Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace) .

11. A Greenpeace activist surveys the damage of the oil spill at Dalian's port on July 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)

12. Oil coats a boat rope on July 18, 2010 after a huge spill following the fire at the port in Dalian, China. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

13. A picture taken on July 18, 2010 shows an oil slick in the Yellow Sea, after a huge spill following the pipeline fire at the port in Dalian, China. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

14. Chinese workers scoop up oil from a spill in the sea near Dalian, China on July 18, 2010. (AP Photo)

15. A Greenpeace activist walks on a beach, surveying the damage of the oil spill at Dalian's port on July 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace

16. A Chinese worker tries to soak up oil from a spill in the sea near Dalian, China on July 18, 2010. (AP Photo)

17. A boat and debris float in a thick oil slick in the Yellow Sea on July 18, 2010, after a huge spill following the pipeline fire at the port in Dalian, China. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

18. A view of the oil spill at Dalian's port in Liaoning province on July 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)

19. Waves splash spilled oil on rocks in the Yellow Sea port of Dalian, China on July 18, 2010. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

20. People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers place protective booms to control the spread of leaked crude oil at a beach in Dalian, China on July 21, 2010. Dalian's Xingang oil port has resumed some loadings for refined fuel for the domestic market, but fuel exports remain temporarily halted, industry officials said, as the oil spill clean-up is still under way. (REUTERS/Stringer)

21. Clean-up workers in a boat try to contain a huge oil slick from seeping further into the Yellow Sea, in the port of Dalian on July 18, 2010. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

22. A small hole in the oil slick covering parts of Dalian's port reveals relatively cleaner water and seaweed beneath on July 18, 2010. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

23. Firemen work on a burnt-out oil storage facility in Dalian, China on July 20, 2010. (AP Photo)

24. A firefighter's dirtied boots are seen on July 18, 2010 after Chinese firemen extinguished a blaze at a port in Dalian, China. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

25. Two workers try to rescue their co-worker (left) from drowning in the oil slick while he was attempting to fix an underwater pump during the oil spill clean-up operations at Dalian's Port on July 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)

26. Workers attempt to rescue a firefighter from drowning in the oil slick during the oil spill clean-up operations at Dalian's Port on July 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)

27. A worker (right) pulls a firefighter, rescuing him from oil-covered waters during the oil spill clean-up operations at Dalian's Port on July 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)

28. A firefighter who was submerged in thick oil during an attempt to fix an underwater pump is brought ashore by his colleagues in Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace)

29. A firefighter who was rescued from oil-covered water is set down after being brought ashore by his colleagues in Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace)

30. The oil covered hand of a firefighter who was overwhelmed by the thick oil spill while attempting to fix an underwater pump is seen after he he was brought to shore by his colleagues in Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace

31. A worker cleans up oil at the oil spill site in the port near Dalian, China on July 23, 2010. Fuel exports remain temporarily halted, industry officials said amid continuing efforts to clean up an oil spill at the country's major port of Dalian. (REUTERS/Stringer)

32. Workers clean up oil spilled into Dalian Port, China on July 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)

33. A fisherman cleans up oil, placing oiled material into barrels near Dalian, China on July 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)

34. A worker paddles his boat as he cleans up oil at an oil spill site near Dalian Port, China on July 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer).

35. A fisherman scrapes his hands across the top of a barrel while cleaning part of an oil spill site in Dalian, China on July 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace

36. Local fisherman scoop spilled oil from the surface of the water at the fishing village of Nantuo in Dalian, China on July 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Greenpeace, Jiang He)

37. Local fishermen rest near pods of retrieved oil as they clean up oil which has spread far from the original explosion site in Xingang port, Dalian, northeastern China on July 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Greenpeace, Jiang He)

38. A local fisherman works to clean up oil spilled into Dalian port in northeastern China on July 23, 2010. ( AP Photo/Greenpeace, Jiang He)

39. A fisherman works aboard a boat floating in an oil-covered port in Dalian, China on July 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)

40. A boat travels through oil sheens from the oil spill site at a fishing port, where oil scooped from the sea is ferried for storing, in Dalian, Liaoning province on July 24, 2010. (REUTERS/Arthur JD/Greenpeace)

41. Local fishermen ferry recovered oil from the spill site at Dayugou port in Dalian, Liaoning province July 25, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)

42. Local fishermen work to haul recovered oil in barrels near Xingang port, Dalian, northeastern China on July 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Greenpeace, Jiang He)

43. A worker arranges containers filled with oil cleaned up from the oil spill site at Beilianggang port in Dalian, Liaoning province July 24, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)

44. An oil-covered fisherman rests next to containers filled with oil cleaned up from the spill site at a port in Dalian, Liaoning province July 25, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)

45. Fishermen scoop oil from the spill site in Dalian, Liaoning province, China on July 25, 2010. (REUTERS/Arthur JD/Greenpeace)

46. A fisherman drinks while cleaning up oil in Dalian on July 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)

47. A pigeon walks on an oily surface near Xinghai Bay seashore in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province on Monday, July 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yao Jianfeng)

48. A worker scoops oil from the spill site near Dalian Port, Liaoning province on July 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)

49. Left: A woman waits to unload drums containing oil recovered from sea in the port city of Dalian, China on July 27, 2010. (LIU JIN/AFP/Getty Images) - Right: An oil soaked Chinese woman looks up as she takes part in a clean up work at the Ganjingzi bay polluted by the oil spill in Dalian, China on July 26, 2010. (AP Photo)

50. People walk along the coast affected by the oil spill in Dalian on July 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Jiang He/Greenpeace)