New | Company at centre of China's Tianjin port blasts 'may have exploited regulatory loopholes'
State media says regulatory gaps in the industry and business licensing procedure may have allowed firm to operate warehouse near residential area
Regulatory gaps in the hazardous material industry and the business licensing procedure may have allowed Ruihai International Logistics to build and operate its warehouse near a residential area in China's port city of Tianjin, Chinese state media reported on Friday.
A column in the overseas edition of People's Daily noted that national standards made no mention of a minimum distance separating a dangerous goods facility from other buildings.
The only instance where a safety zone is mentioned is in a technical specification from 2001. It requires such warehouses to be at least 1km from public buildings, transportation lines or factories. But a highway, light rail line and residential area were all about 600 metres from the Ruihai Logistics' facility in the Binhai New Area, and all were damaged in the explosions.
"The country has never released safety distances for plants with hazardous chemicals, allowing indecent companies to take advantage of the loophole," said the article, which was later deleted from the media outlet's website.
The other major concern raised by the article dealt with official oversight and enforcement. Ruihai Logistics' business registration mentions only storage of general goods, according to the article. But Gao Huaiyou, deputy director of the Tianjin Administration of Work Safety, said in a Friday briefing that the company had obtained qualification for temporary storage of hazardous goods while waiting for customs clearance.