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Tianjin Explosions Update: Over 100 Dead; Company Abused the Law

posted by takyon on Sunday August 16 2015, @01:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the free-market dept.

"gewg_" writes:

Common Dreams reports:

The death toll from this week's fiery explosions at the Chinese port of Tianjin climbed above 100 on Saturday, while confusion spread over whether authorities had ordered the evacuation of everyone within two miles amid fears of chemical contamination.

[...] Anti-chemical warfare troops have entered the site, according to the BBC.

[...] Two Chinese news outlets, including the state-run The Paper, reported that the warehouse was storing 700 tons of sodium cyanide--70 times more than it should have been holding at one time--and that authorities were rushing to clean it up.

Sodium cyanide is a toxic chemical that can form a flammable gas upon contact with water.

[...] "The company that owned the warehouse where the blasts originated, Rui Hai International Logistics, appears to have violated Chinese law by operating close to apartment buildings and worker dormitories", journalist Andrew Jacobs reports for [NYTimes] (paywall). "Residents say they were unaware that the company was handling dangerous materials."

About 6,300 people have been displaced by the blasts, with around 721 injured and 33 in serious condition, Xinhua news agency said. At least 21 firefighters are reported dead.

Related: Large Warehouse Explosions Injure 300-400 in Tianjin, China

For the adulterated baby formula abuses of 2008 (4 infants dead; 12,892 hospitalized), 2 people were executed. One wonders what will come of this case.

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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by hemocyanin on Sunday August 16 2015, @04:39PM

    by hemocyanin (186) on Sunday August 16 2015, @04:39PM (#223552) Journal

    the Chinese pretty much handle these problems the same way, kill the guy in charge and move on like nothing happened.

    As compared to the American way (do nothing at all) which is better? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Fertilizer_Company_explosion [wikipedia.org]

    Fifteen people were killed, more than 160 were injured, and more than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed.
    ...
    According to its last filing with the EPA in late 2012, the company stated that it stored 540,000 pounds (270 short tons; 240 t) of ammonium nitrate and 110,000 pounds (55 short tons; 50 t) of anhydrous ammonia on the site. A week after the explosion, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Senate investigators that the company did not appear to have disclosed its ammonium nitrate stock to her department. Federal law requires that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be notified whenever anyone has more than one ton of ammonium nitrate on hand, or 400 pounds (180 kg) if the ammonium nitrate is combined with combustible material

    Has anything of a criminal nature happened against the owners and management of West for violating regaulations? No.

    I'm anti-death penalty so I don't really think China's method is awesome, but then, the US method: "do nothing and let the average joe suck it up, so sorry about that" really sucks too. Another expression of the one rule for the population, one rule for the over-class.

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Gravis on Sunday August 16 2015, @04:55PM

    by Gravis (4596) on Sunday August 16 2015, @04:55PM (#223556)

    As compared to the American way (do nothing at all) which is better?

    i'm not commenting on what's good or bad, i just wrote what's going to happen.

  • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 16 2015, @05:17PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 16 2015, @05:17PM (#223565)

    As compared to the American way (give them a raise and plenty of bonuses) which is better?

    FTFY.

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 16 2015, @09:12PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 16 2015, @09:12PM (#223630)

    According to its last filing with the EPA in late 2012 [. . .] Federal law requires that [...] DHS be notified

    An agency that could have padlocked the West, Texas operation until they were in compliance with standards is OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration).

    The Neoliberals in Congress (privatize everything; kill off all regulatory agencies), however, have continually defunded that agency in keeping with the principles of Reaganism.
    Due to limited regulatory manpower, the West, TX plant was last inspected in 1985. [google.com]

    My original suggested department was
    from the a-more-free-market-and-fewer-regulations-is-clearly-the-solution dept.
    takyon retained the nub of that.

    -- gewg_