Tianjin mourns dead as troops race to clear toxic chemicals

The company whose warehouse exploded in Tianjin, killing more than one hundred and devastating the port area, was licensed to handle unsafe chemicals at the time of the blasts, but suspicions have been raised over its certificates.[Special coverage]. Officials have assured the public that contingency measures are in place if the chemicals spread.

Sodium cyanide, which is primarily used in the mining industry and for plastic production, is of particular concern; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying that exposure to chemical can be “rapidly fatal”. Officials have built a dam around the crater to prevent leakage, they said.

China’s Cyberspace Administration has taken down 50 web sites for reporting “rumours” on the Tianjin explosions.

In the wake of the deadly explosion that ripped through Tianjin, China that has claimed at least 114 lives and left 70 more still missing since last Wednesday, attention is now being turned to what might have triggered the disaster as well as the toxic chemical brew released into the environment.

Residents also anxious about lingering contamination in the area.

Authorities have been criticised for failing to uphold industrial regulations, notably requirements that warehouses stocking risky materials be at least one kilometre from surrounding public buildings and main roads. The warehouse was in violation of both of those standards.

A days-long fire intensified at the hazardous goods storage facility and the series of new explosions sent a thick black column of smoke into the air, the official Xinhua news agency said.

“They’ve almost got a cocktail in the warehouse of the worst-case scenario”, said Craig Watt, General Manager of Chem-Safe Australia, a chemical safety consultancy in Australia.

According to Chinese language magazine, Caijing, Dong Mengmeng, the son of a former Tianjin police chief is among those in police custody.

China’s top prosecutor is reported to be investigating all involved officials for dereliction of duty and other crimes.

Meanwhile, China’s anti-graft watchdog announced that a former Tianjin official had been placed under investigation, without indicating whether the development was connected to the recent explosion.

The agency is one of many government departments that regulate companies that operate with risky materials.

In a report, Xinhua said the cabinet, the State Council, had ordered “governments at all levels to reinforce the safety management on unsafe chemicals and explosives”.

Zong Guoying, Communist Party secretary of Tianjin’s Binhai district, told reporters that a service centre had been set up for those whose houses had been damaged. “Up until now they have not acknowledged us at all”, said Li Jiao, whose home was close to the blast site.

Companies have reported that employees are refusing to show up for work and the cost of the estimated damages from the blasts both to the port area near the site of the disaster, residences, warehouses and business is expected to be massive.