Lax safety laws blamed for fatal blast at Jiangsu factory

The explosion at a metalworks factory in Jiangsu province that killed at least 75 people could have been averted if the mainland had stronger safety laws to prevent the build-up of dust that sparked the blast, observers and a labour organisation said.

The explosion at Zhongrong Metal Products is thought to have occurred when a flame ignited thick dust in a polishing workshop at the car parts factory in Kunshan. More than 180 people were injured.

An official at the Kunshan Administration of Work Safety told the South China Morning Post it had warned Zhongrong many times that the dusty working conditions at the plant could spark an explosion.

"It's impossible for us to assign an official to supervise this company every day and we have no power to shut it down," the official, who declined to give his name, said.

There was a fire in a part of the polishing workshop two months ago after metal dust was ignited by an overheated engine in the workshop's dust-cleaning machine, The Beijing News reported.

China Labour Watch, a US-based workers' rights group, said that if proper equipment had been installed at the factory the disaster would have been avoided.

"Safety measures like ventilation systems should have prevented such an accumulation of dust particles," the organisation said in a statement. "This tragedy is a result of lax safety standards in the workplace."