WORLD
Red Tide Hits Chinese Beach
2008-07-01 03:06am
Just six weeks before China hosts the Olympics, an algae bloom has washed up in the Yellow Sea at the the city of Qingdao.
The government has mobilized thousands of people and an armada of boats to clean up the red tide that is threatening to impede Olympic competition.
Reports said about 20,000 people have either volunteered or have been mobilized by the government. About 1,000 boats have been sent into action as well.
Water quality has been a concern among Olympic officials because a number of Chinese cities dump raw sewage into the ocean.
Meanwhile, a number of rivers and tributaries that empty into the sea contain high levels of nitrates from agricultural and industrial runoff. These nitrates often contribute to large red tide blooms along China's coast.
But Chinese officials say that's not the case this time. Chinese scientists have attributed the latest outbreak to warmer in the Yellow Sea and heavier-than-normal rainfall.
(c) 2008 Newsroom.