CHINA-BLAST/AIR QUALITY MONITOR China says cyanide deposits in Tianjin do not exceed standard level

Record ID: 143471

  • Title: CHINA-BLAST/AIR QUALITY MONITOR China says cyanide deposits in Tianjin do not exceed standard level
  • Date: 18th August 2015
  • Summary: AIR POLLUTION INDEX ON SCREEN ENVIRONMENT AIR MONITORING STAFF WORKING GRAPH OF AIR POLLUTION ON SCREEN
  • Embargoed: 2nd September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9X7G1WU39N6BEAEOSPL0EAXIN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Environmental officials said that cyanide deposits detected after rain on Tuesday (August 18) morning did not exceed the standard level in Tianjin.
    The government has confirmed there was about 700 tons of the deadly chemical sodium cyanide in the warehouse that blew up in the two explosions last week that killed at least 114 people.
    The blasts injured over 700 others and another 70 are missing, most of them fire fighters.
    On Monday (August 17), monitoring stations picked up cyanide readings in water within the two-kilometre exclusion zone multiple times the accepted level, officials said.
    About 6,300 people have been evacuated from around the site in the city of about 15 million and the gateway to China's industrial northeast.
    Tianjin saw rainfall on Tuesday morning for over a hour, which triggered the fear that toxic gas would spread.
    But Bao Jingling, head of the environmental emergency expert group of the Tianjin Environment Protection Bureau said the current cyanide deposit reading was a fraction of the accepted standard.
    "According to the data released at 2:00 p.m. (0600GMT), cyanide deposits were detected from our 18 monitoring stations. The highest reading was 0.007. Our current standard reading should be 0.024. So the highest reading is less than one third of the standard reading. Are you clear?" Bao told media during a government organized trip to one of the air quality monitoring stations.
    Deng Xiaowen, Director of Tianjin Environmental Monitoring Center also said there should not be any worries about toxic gas.
    "Also using judgement from our daily lives, there would be bubbles formed on the ground after heavy rain. Judging by these factors, since I don't have scientific statistics and I haven't done tests, there should not be any (toxic gas) as there would be bubbles, because there aren't large amounts (of toxic chemicals)," he said.
    State media said the company that operated the warehouse was not licensed to handle hazardous chemicals until two months before the explosions. Protesters have demanded compensation and mourners held memorials for victims earlier on Tuesday.
    Investigators have not determined the cause of the blasts but the Tianjin disaster has deepened public concern about work safety regulations. China has struggled in recent years with incidents ranging from mining disasters to factory fires, and President Xi Jinping has vowed that authorities should learn the lessons paid for with blood.
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