Contaminated soil from Tianjin blasts to be stored in ‘leak-proof’ tank just 4km from explosion site

The authorities in Tianjin are building a 20,000-square metre “leak-proof” tank to store contaminated soil from the scene of the huge explosions at a dangerous goods warehouse earlier this month that killed at least 145 people, state media reported.

The pool is to be built 4km from the site of the explosions in Tianjin port, the state-run news agency Xinhua said.

A 13-cm “impermeable layer” of sand and bricks will be placed at the bottom and workers are busy lining the tank with leak-proof material, the report said.

It will come into service soon, according to the report.

Thousands of tonnes of dangerous chemicals were stored at the warehouse when it exploded on August 12.

Residents living near blast site have reported bad smells in the past few days, the China News Service reported on Friday.

The city’s environmental protection department said on its social media account that the bad odour was from the gas methanethiol, which can be produced by decomposing organic matter, and that it did not pose a threat to health.