Businesses helping too

Some local enterprises also volunteered to help. On July 24, Dalian Ailun Bakery organized about 100 workers who were off duty that day to clean up oil at a cove five kilometers away from their company in the city's Ganjingzi district.

A man who declined to give his name said their boss encouraged them to clean the sea. "The sea near our home is polluted. We should do what we can to help clean it," he said.

At Boshi Bay, a popular beach in the city's economic development zone, bulldozers were busy carrying away the oil-soaked straw mattresses.

Liang Yanlun, 25, and his friend were taking a rest after a busy morning helping to load oil into barrels, with oil stains still left on their backs and limbs.

A worker at a nearby blade company, Liang was taking a day off that day. Despite the oil cleaning work that had been underway for several days, Liang found a small bay that was still covered with an oil slick brought ashore by the waves. So he decided to do something himself.

"I come here to swim every summer, so it's a pity that the beach is contaminated. If our efforts can help clean up the oil as soon as possible, it will be worthwhile," Liang said. That morning, they loaded eight barrels of oil.

Although a warning sign reads "oil cleaning underway; please keep off the beach", some local people still tried to spend some weekend leisure time there, sitting only inches away from the oil-covered pebbles, watching the sea water that was still covered with oil. A strong smell of oil still lingered in the air.

Local fishermen also played a crucial role in curbing the spread of the oil slick. Fishermen said they have been told by government officials that they will receive 300 yuan for each barrel of oil they collect. The estimated volume of each barrel is more than 50 kg.

At a bay near Jinwan Bridge at Jinshitan, or the Golden Pebble Beach, a popular seaside resort, hundreds of barrels of oil were placed in a row, waiting their turn to be examined and counted by the staff from the emergency coordinating office.

Trucks were also waiting in line to transport the barrels away to Dalian Petro Chemical for further processing, according to the truck drivers.

Drivers of vehicles with "environment monitoring" signs painted on them, and several police officers were at scene, but refused to talk to a China Daily reporter.

Liu Changjun, a 53-year-old mariculturist, said his family started to collect oil on July 21, and their two fishing boats can fetch about 20 or 30 barrels a day.

"Some families with more fishing boats have collected as much as 70 barrels a day," Liu said.

"This might be the worst job ever for anyone, but we all tried our best (to clean up)," said Liu. "No one wanted this accident to happen."

Liu said his 6.67 hectares mariculture field - which nurtures seaweed and shellfish - has been contaminated.

Some larger-scale mariculture companies have been affected by the accident, as well.

Ma Jiaqing, office director at Wangdong Marine Products, told China Daily that the company's 233 hectares field is near the port where the blast happened.

"We started mariculture there in 1993, and the lease term for the 233 hectares seabed is for 80 years. The products include abalone, sea cucumber, and so on," Ma said.

Although he refused to talk about his economic losses from this accident, he emphasized that he believes the government can bring about a satisfying result.

"The current priority is still cleaning up the oil slick. It's not yet the best time to talk about compensation and future plans," he said.