1、 Sudden accident, Zijiang Mongolian pollution

On December 9, 2020, a serious accident occurred at a hydropower station upstream of Zijiang in Xinhua County, Hunan Province, where about 6 tons of engine oil leaked into Zijiang. Zijiang is one of the "Four Waters" in Hunan Province, flowing through multiple counties and cities and emptying into Dongting Lake in Yiyang City. It has a total length of 653 kilometers and a vast drainage area. In Xinhua County, Zijiang, also known as Zhuyu River, is the mother river of the local ancient Meishan culture. It has numerous tributaries, reservoirs, and power stations, dense population, prosperous business and tourism, developed agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and is also a tourist scenic spot. The river water is clear and the fish resources are abundant.

After the accident, the local hydrological station detected that the concentration of petroleum in the polluted water exceeded the standard by 3.5 times. The harm of petroleum pollution is extremely great. It will not degrade on its own. If not handled properly, it will not only directly pollute the Zijiang water area, threaten the living and drinking water safety of residents in Xinhua City and downstream counties and cities, but also cause irreversible damage to fish and other organisms in Zijiang. It will also have long-term negative impacts on the tourism ecological environment of Xinhua County and even the entire Zijiang River basin in the middle and lower reaches.

The Xinhua County Committee and Government attach great importance to it and uphold the concept of "green mountains and clear waters are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver". They have decided to intercept the oil pollution in Xinhua for treatment, preventing it from flowing out and harming downstream areas. The relevant departments took immediate action and organized local social rescue organizations such as "Blue Sky" to carry out rescue operations. Measures such as blocking and scattering straw were taken to initially control the leaked engine oil in the upstream water area. However, straw treatment of oil pollution has significant drawbacks, such as low oil holding capacity and easy water absorption. Over time, it will sink to the bottom of the water, causing straw rot, foul water quality, and triggering secondary disasters.

2、 Seeking solutions and learning from lessons

On December 11th, the county party secretary Zhu Qianming and other leaders held an on-site meeting at the Xintian Village wharf emergency command center to discuss solutions and find units and plans capable of solving the problem. Experts from relevant departments recommended a state-owned enterprise, which proposed using oil dispersants or oil absorbing felt to solve the problem of floating oil. However, this solution requires millions of yuan in material and labor costs. County leaders have questioned this, stating that oil dispersants may not be able to completely solve the problem of pollution and may also harm aquatic resources such as fish in Zijiang. Moreover, as a key county for national poverty alleviation and development work, Xinhua County is unable to bear this huge cost.

Emergency and environmental department staff searched for the handling of several major oil spill accidents in China: on March 24, 1999, the "MinRan Supply No. 2" oil tanker in Xiamen Port, Fujian collided with the "Donghai 209" ship, spilling 589.7 tons of heavy oil; In June 2011, the oil spill accident occurred on the Penglai 19-3 oil well platform of ConocoPhillips China Petroleum Company. Improper emergency measures were taken using oil suppressants, polluting seawater and affecting coastal fisheries and aquaculture. The legal lawsuit lasted for more than three years, and the responsible party for the accident compensated 1.683 billion yuan; On June 4, 2011, a 22 ton phenol leakage accident occurred on Hangzhou Xinjing Expressway in Zhejiang Province. At that time, traditional methods such as sand landfill and water washing were used for disposal. Due to rainstorm, chemicals infiltrated into the Fuchun River, causing 450000 residents water difficulties and ecological environmental damage. These accidents have made Xinhua County aware of the seriousness of improper handling of oil spills, and there are concerns that the Zijiang oil spill may cause similar secondary environmental pollution and social impacts.

3、 Cross provincial cooperation, best solution revealed

The emergency and environmental protection departments of Xinhua County, recommended by petrochemical experts, contacted Huang Jianshe, Chairman of Zhongyi Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. in Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province through the internet. The company has invention patents for emergency products such as FG adsorption particles, adsorption pads, and adsorption drag rails for "oil and chemical spills". In 2013, it was listed as a designated oil spill emergency material production reserve enterprise by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China. Its products were listed as emergency disposal reserve materials for marine ship oil spill pollution by the national maritime department. In 2014, it established an environmental pollution control and rescue team with rich experience in oil spill emergency disposal.

Surprisingly, the company's material quotation has been reduced by more than 90% compared to the original budget, and it has promised not to leave any environmental pollution problems. Its FG adsorption particles and other materials are environmentally friendly and safe, and can save more than 80% of labor costs compared to chemical fiber oil absorbing felt. The leaders of relevant departments in Xinhua County have decided to purchase emergency facilities and supplies from the company, and have invited their professional technical personnel to provide on-site guidance.

4、 Pioneer rescue team, rushing thousands of miles for assistance

After reaching an agreement with the rescue team leader Dong Chenfa, Huang Jianshe, Chairman of Yongkang Zhongyi Company, immediately dispatched a self provided rescue vehicle consisting of key members such as Dong Chenfa, Hu Linhan, Wang Kaifa, Zhai Minghong, and Fan Binhao, carrying emergency equipment and supplies, to depart overnight. It is expected to report to the Daxinhua County Emergency Bureau early on December 12th. These team members have rich rescue experience. In the G25 Changshen Expressway incident on July 15, 2016, about 15 tons of engine oil leaked from Yongxiang Creek in Yongkang, Zhejiang, they used FG polymer adsorption material physical adsorption method to completely remove more than 20000 square meters of oil pollution in the river under the premise of continuous water supply, protecting the urban water system environment on both sides of the Qiantang River; On April 12, 2020, in the S27 Dongyong Expressway Fangyan Scenic Area exit ramp oil tanker rollover leakage accident, measures such as blocking and preventing diffusion, throwing FG adsorption materials to block oil and gas evaporation were taken to successfully resolve the danger.

The Pioneer Emergency Rescue Team, based on volunteers and relying on Zhongyi Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., is an emergency linkage unit of the people's governments of Jinhua City and Yongkang City, and was awarded the exemplary organization of Zhejiang Province's emergency linkage drill in 2018. In this operation, 5 team members completed personnel assembly, rescue material stocking, loading and other tasks in just 2 hours, and then drove continuously for 14 hours, crossing over 1000 kilometers to reach the destination. After arrival, the leaders of the Xinhua County department conducted on-site tests on the FG oil absorbing granules brought by the rescue team, and the results showed good oil absorption effect, which reassured the leaders.

5、 Rescue in the snow, arduous struggle

The polluted river near Xintian Village, Fenglin Street, Xinhua County has a width of about 300 meters and a depth of about 20 meters. The first step in the rescue work is to salvage thousands of pounds of straw soaked in oily water, and then use the middle wing FG to adsorb and tow the fence to block the oil pollution and prevent it from spreading. However, the weather was not favorable, and the heavy snowfall brought many difficulties to the rescue work. The Xinhua Emergency Command Center set up tents and lit bonfires to keep the rescue team warm. Two rescue teams, Yongkang Zhongyi Pioneer and Xinhua Blue Sky, piloted three assault boats, braved the wind and snow, first salvaged straw, and then used two boats to drag a 300 meter long FG oil absorbing trailer to intercept and enclose nearly 3 square kilometers of polluted water surface. Afterwards, FG oil absorbing particles were scattered in batches on the river surface to adsorb the floating oil into a solid state before salvaging and packaging it for treatment.

Dong Chenfa, the captain of the Yongkang Pioneer Rescue Team, and Hu Linhan, a member of the team, have good physical fitness and have undergone multiple water rescue training sessions. They are able to adapt to rescue work under various extreme weather conditions. They fought side by side with the Xinhua Blue Sky Rescue Team for more than ten hours without any fatigue, which greatly impressed the members of the Xinhua Blue Sky Rescue Team. On the morning of the 13th, members of two teams surrounded and cut in blocks, salvaged and adsorbed particles, retrieved the oil absorbing towing boom, and completed the rescue work. Captain Dong Chenfa also introduced the oil contaminated straw treatment method and the secondary utilization knowledge of FG adsorption materials to the relevant leaders of Xinhua County and the Blue Sky Rescue Team. These materials only used 20-30% of their adsorption capacity this time and can be reused.

6、 Ecological restoration, grateful gift

After the snow stopped, the beautiful scenery of Xinhua remained unchanged, and the Zhuyu River was as clear as ever. Cold ducks played on the river surface, indicating that the oil spill accident did not affect the ecological environment of the Zhuyu River. From the accident to the completion of the oil pollution cleanup, it only took 5 days for the Xinhua County Committee and Government to submit a satisfactory answer sheet.

Before the return of the Yongkang Zhongyi Pioneer Emergency Rescue Team, Director Yang Jianping of Xinhua County Emergency Bureau, on behalf of County Party Secretary Zhu Qianming, came to offer condolences and bid farewell to the Yongkang Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, Emergency Department, and Yongkang brothers for their selfless dedication and long-distance rescue. The people of Xinhua remember this friendship and look forward to meeting again in a harmonious and peaceful environment.

The rescue operation of the Zijiang oil spill in Xinhua, Hunan Province this time reflects the high attention of the Xinhua County Party Committee and Government to the ecological environment, and also demonstrates the professional, efficient, and selfless rescue spirit of the Yongkang Zhongyi Pioneer Emergency Rescue Team. They jointly safeguard the ecological environment of the Zhuyu River and the peaceful life of the people in Xinhua.

Authors: Zhang Zehong, Hu Wujun, Lv Jianming