China oil spill far bigger than said

An American oil spill expert says China's worst known oil spill is far larger than the government has reported.

An American oil spill expert says China's worst known oil spill is far larger than the government has reported.

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China's government has said 1,500 tons of oil spilled after an explosion two weeks ago near the northeastern city of Dalian. But Rick Steiner estimates that 60,000 to 90,000 tons spilled into the Yellow Sea. He says the spill is at least as large as the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil disaster in Alaska.

Steiner announced the estimate Friday after touring the oil spill area as a consultant for the environmental group Greenpeace China. An official with Dalian's propaganda department said he was not aware of Steiner's estimates and had no comment.

Chinese officials stopped announcing the scale of the oil spill early on.