The authorities in Dalian are mulling the relocation of a controversial petrochemical plant at the centre of a toxic spill scare, after angry residents threatened to take to the streets over mounting safety and environmental fears, state media reported.
In an apparent concession to public outrage prompted by the narrowly avoided spill on Monday, the city government decided to reassess the safety of the Fujia petrochemical plant and consider moving it, Xinhua said yesterday.
Nearly 6 million Dalian residents woke on Monday to find their lives had been put at risk when Tropical Storm Muifa breached a protective dyke, raising the possibility that extremely toxic chemicals, notably paraxylene, or PX, could have been released from the plant.
Although authorities repaired the dyke and insisted that no spills were detected, the incident sparked panic and fuelled resentment against the PX project, operational since 2009, with calls for protests emerging on social networking site Sina Weibo.
Xinhua said the relocation of the plant became an option after top leaders in Dalian 'carefully reviewed the plant's safety problems and took notice of public appeals'.
Citing the Dalian government, China News Service also reported that a possible relocation plan was likely to be drafted.
The unusual outpouring of public anger has been attributed to the fact locals were largely kept in the dark when work on the 9.5 billion yuan (HK$11.5 billion) project, producing 700,000 tonnes of paraxylene a year, started about 20 kilometres from the city centre in 2005.