A total of 2,761.5 tons of oil-contaminated waste on the Huangpu River, which cuts through the center of Shanghai, has been cleared in a week since an oil spill was caused by a ship collision on Aug. 5.  

An unidentified boat hit the cargo vessel "Changyang" which was moored in the Huangpu River near the Wujing Thermo-Electric Power Plant early that day, damaging the ship's cabin and causing 85 tons of fuel to spill into the river.

The accident resulted in an oil slick 200 meters long by 20 meters wide. The vessel held accountable slipped away into the darkness after the accident.

Jiao Yang, a spokesman for the Shanghai Municipal Government, said on Tuesday that a total of 483 vessels were dispatched to the polluted area to clear oil-contaminated waste over the past three days. Two hundred and six trucks joined the efforts to move away the waste.

The area was near major waterworks serving Shanghai municipality. The local environmental protection bureau has over the past seven days tested the water quality in areas within a radius of 30 kilometers near the polluted spot. Monitoring data showed that water in the section upstream from the polluted spot is safe.

Jiao Yang said that the 85 tons of oil leaked from the "Changyang" had been cleared on the Huangpu River by Monday and that from noon Tuesday, the oil-clearing had entered the final phase. The local maritime department would organize special teams to clean the remaining few polluted spots.

Shanghai is working with neighboring provinces to search for the boat responsible, Jiao said.

The Huangpu River flows eastward through the heart of Shanghai, the country's most booming industrial and commercial center, and empties into the East China Sea.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2003)