China oil spill will affect ecosystem for 10 years
The July 16 oil spill on Dalian's coast, while smaller and more controllable than the infamous Gulf of Mexico spill, is nonetheless a major environmental disaster that will pose a hazard to the area's ecosystem for the next 10 years, despite all the cleanup efforts, researchers say
Even after the estimated 15-day cleanup, all the pollutants will not be gone, said Zhao Zhangyuan, a researcher with the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.
"They will decompose and then spread," he said. "It will affect our ecosystems in the same way the Mexico Gulf accident will affect that area. Ours is different only in its degree and scale."
