Over 100,000 Volunteers for Taean Oil Spill as of This Weekend

The number of volunteers for the recent oil spill in the waters off Taean, South Chungcheong Province will exceed 100,000 as of this weekend.

The Korea Coast Guard disaster control headquarters said Friday that 22,000 volunteers from all over the country have participated in the cleanup work on that day alone.

“As more volunteers come to Taean on weekends, the number of volunteers will exceed 100,000 as of this weekend,” said an official from the disaster control headquarters.

Meanwhile, as of Friday, oil has reached Socheong Island, 70 km south of where the disaster occurred, beyond Oijango Island, Ho Island and Sapsido of Boryeong.

Oil globules have been found along a 10 km stretch of seashore from Baesajang Beach to Ggotji Beach in Anmyeondo. The globules, which are two to three cm in diameter, form when the volatile parts of oil evaporate.

Ryu Cheong-ro, a professor of Marine Science and Technology at Pukyong National University, said, “Since the oil has already congealed, secondary pollution will not be serious if fish and shellfish are not directly touched.”

mhjee@donga.com