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Hazardous warehouse green lighted despite acknowledging nearby flats, Tianjin safety report found
New explosions rock chemical plant in Shandong as it emerges a consultant was aware of residential area within 1km regulation
Military specialists in handling nuclear and biochemical materials decontaminate at a residential community near the core area of the warehouse explosion site in Tianjin. Photo: Xinhua
A safety assessment that gave the green light to the hazardous goods warehouse at the centre of the Tianjin explosions concluded it conformed to government standards, despite acknowledging the location of nearby flats that have since been shown to be contravene such regulations.
The assessment, by consultancy Zhongbin Haisheng, came despite its acknowledgment that a residential area was 970 metres from the warehouse and a highway about 310 metres away. Both distances are within the government's technical guidelines that require medium to large hazardous warehouses to be at least 1km from other public facilities.
In a separate development, explosions at about 8.50pm yesterday shook a chemical plant in Zibo, Shandong province, Xinhua reported. The blasts shattered glass in nearby homes, according to local media, but no casualty figures were available.
Zhongbin Haisheng released its assessment quietly late last week on its reopened website. It had identified 40 safety issues and 24 potential hazards that it said the warehouse operator, Ruihai International Logistics, had corrected after its report.
But none of the problems flagged by the consultancy involved concerns that residential areas were too close, China Youth Daily reported yesterday.
The death toll from the explosions at the Tianjin warehouse on August 12 has risen to 121, including 67 firefighters and seven policemen. A total of 640 people remain in hospital, including 48 critically injured.
Government regulations for hazardous and chemical goods projects require operators to commission qualified consultancies to carry out safety assessments, and submit the reports for port authorities' approval.
A victim of the explosions collects belongings at his damaged home. Photo: AFP
Zhongbin Haisheng was evaluating the conversion of a logistics centre into the hazardous goods warehouse operated by Ruihai. It identified issues including a lack of an emergency response plan by Ruihai, containers being too close together and too few regular emergency drills.
The Daily previously reported that Zhongbin Haisheng was partly owned by Tianjin Fire Research Centre, which is affiliated with the fire services department.
The Tianjin Economic Development Area authority, which administers the area including Ruihai's warehouse, said on its website that Zhongbin was one of two firms qualified to undertake the assessments. A Daily report earlier said there were four.
Xinhua has previously reported that another consultancy had declined to undertake a safety assessment on Ruihai's warehouse, citing concerns over the proximity of nearby residential areas.
But Ruihai's chairman Yu Xuewei sought help from "another consultancy" to secure the safety assessment.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace found similar safety hazards at four other port cities, including Shanghai, Ningbo , Guangzhou and Qingdao , where residential areas are within a few hundred metres of chemical storage facilities.