The massive explosions, which occurred approximately 3km from the nearest container terminal, resulted in the death of at least 114 people, while some 700 have been reported injured.
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Bao Jingling, chief engineer of Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau, said Wednesday that air quality outside the blast zone was normal and the cyanide concentration in tested water and soil was in normal range.
“If the rain gets heavy, water will have to be drained”.
The families of dead and missing firefighters – including low-paid contract firemen as young as 17 – have staged a number of protests demanding more information from the authorities, while those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed have called for compensation in a series of demonstrations.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 150 tonnes of sodium cyanide has been removed from the core blast area and sent to its manufacturer to be processed, he said. Time confirmed from an employee of a government doing business with Rui Hai that the corporate had indeed stored a high amount of sodium cyanide in the facility.
There was no immediate word from China’s Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC) on the status of its headquarters, located about a kilometre away from the blast site. Bao said that this was at the outlet of a blocked pipe and wouldn’t pollute surrounding areas.
Other state publications like the People’s Daily have either attacked the local government of Tianjin, claiming officials have done little to quell the rumors the federal government is trying desperately to suppress. Its coverage of the Beijing communist government generally has been limited to stories like “Puppy saved from Tianjin explosion site”.
More than 40 different types of hazardous chemicals were being stored at the site with a total volume of about 3,000 tons, deputy national fire chief Niu Hueguang was quoted as saying on the China’sFire Services’ official website.
“The first safety appraisal company said our warehouses were too close to the apartment building”, said Dong, 34, referring to a residential complex that was severely damaged and now stands empty. Initial estimation revealed over 100 people lost their lives and several more injured.
Prosecutors said on Sunday they had launched an investigation into whether there had been any “abuse of power or dereliction of duty”, according to Xinhua.
Its dust is also easy to inhale.
China has struggled in recent years with accidents ranging from mining disasters to factory fires, and President Xi Jinping has vowed that authorities should learn the lessons paid for with blood. In June 2013, a fire at a poultry plant in the northeastern province of Jilin killed 121 people.
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It also shed light on the murky ownership structure at Ruihai, which had been the source of rampant rumours of potential high-level connections and coverup since the August 12 blasts, which also have left 65 missing and 674 in hospital.
