Chinese safety inspectors gave Tianjin blasts warehouse 'the all-clear’
Officials said in review last year that firm handling dangerous goods had ‘established rather sound safety management system’, newspaper reports.
A safety review carried out last year of the company operating the dangerous goods warehouse in Tianjin – the scene of huge explosions that killed at least 114 people – said the selection of the site was in line with regulations and the city’s development plan, according to a newspaper report.
The authorities have so far not made public the details of the review into Ruihai International Logistics' operations, but the 21st Century Business Herald said a 98-page report had concluded that the company had “established a rather sound safety management system”.
The report was dated August 2014 and was conducted by 10 people from Zhongbin Haisheng, one of two licensed safety review agencies in Tianjin, the report said.
The agency has strong government connections, including with the Tianjin Firefighting Institute which comes under the control of the Ministry of Public Security, according to the article.
Regulations for companies running businesses handling dangerous chemicals require large-scale warehouses such as Ruihai’s to be at least 1 km from public buildings, transportation lines or factories.