August 2015 – CHINA – Heavy
rain fell Tuesday on the remains of a Chinese industrial site
devastated by giant explosions, complicating clean-up efforts and
heightening fears about toxic contamination as ceremonies were held to
mark the disaster’s 114 deaths. Around 700 tons of highly toxic sodium
cyanide were at the site in the northern port of Tianjin, officials say,
and water could spread it more widely. Rainwater could also disperse
chemical residues on the ground into the air when it evaporates, and
some of the many substances on the scene could react with it. Amid
public anger over the disaster more details about the site operator were
reported and a senior work safety official was put under investigation.
Officials have insisted the city’s air and water are safe, but locals
and victims’ relatives have voiced skepticism, while international
environment group Greenpeace has also urged transparency. “I’m worried
because we don’t know what’s in the rain,” said a taxi driver as he made
his way through the morning deluge. “It could be full of poison.”
Out of 40 water testing points, eight
showed excess levels of cyanide on Monday, all within a cordoned-off
area surrounding the site of the blasts. The highest reading was 28.4
times official standards, said Bao Jingling, chief engineer at the
Tianjin environmental protection bureau. The chemical had been detected
at another 21 points and cyanide traces were detected at four other
seawater testing points, he added. Authorities have built a dam of sand
and earth around the blasts’ central 100,000-square-metre
(120,000-square-yard) “core area” to prevent pollutant leakage, Bao
said, and drained water from pits and pipelines to make space for the
rain. Sodium cyanide, which has a variety of industrial uses including
gold mining, is a toxic white crystal or powder. It can release hydrogen
cyanide gas, used in gas chamber executions in the U.S. Acute exposure
at lower concentrations can cause weakness, nausea and eye and skin
irritation while chronic exposure can affect the cardiovascular and
central nervous systems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
“We are paying high attention to the
rain forecast for the coming couple of days,” Bao told reporters. “We
are making plans for the treatment of tens of thousands of tons of
polluted water in the pit in the core area.” The air would be “closely
monitored” at 18 testing points, and if excessive levels of cyanide or
organic compounds were detected the public would be alerted promptly, he
promised. But residents are skeptical. “How can we say that the
environment is clear?” asked Chen Xingyao, who lived near the blast site
and was protesting outside the hotel where the press conference was
being held, to demand government compensation for her ruined apartment.
“Also, if only the government will test the environment, nobody can know
whether it’s good or not.” Amid public anger over the blast and the
handling of the aftermath, Chinese media — which are effectively
controlled by the authorities — have pointed blame squarely at local
officials and the company involved, rather than at any systemic failings
in the Communist-ruled country.
The warehouse owner, Ruihai
International Logistics, had a license to handle dangerous chemicals at
the time of the blast, but there were questions about its certificates
and it had previously operated without one, the official Xinhua news
agency reported. A total of 10 executives from the firm, including its
chief executive, have been detained by police, reports said. The head of
China’s national work safety watchdog, Yang Dongliang — a former vice
mayor of Tianjin — has been put under investigation for “suspected
severe violation of discipline and the law,” the Communist party’s
internal anti-graft watchdog said without giving details. The phrase is
normally a euphemism for corruption. According to state broadcaster
CCTV, a senior fire brigade official said there had been a total of
3,000 tons of dangerous chemicals on the site, in 40 different
categories. –Economic Times of India
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