Matilda
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Post by Matilda on Aug 13, 2015 5:26:48 GMT 10
Just in from China:
A fuel storage facility has exploded. Many injured.
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tyburn
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Post by tyburn on Aug 13, 2015 16:15:37 GMT 10
Not sure if you're referring to me? I'm fine - this happened a long way from us, although the shock was apparently felt dozens of kilometres away.
The news coming in is pretty grim. At the moment it looks like a shipping container in a dangerous goods storage area caught fire, which then set off a fire in an explosives storage area, which then set off multiple explosions as other stuff in neighbouring areas went up.
We're not located near a port or transport depot, however we had a bit of a brainstorm at lunch about similar areas to stay clear of when buying an apartment. I still can't believe there were offices and apartments so close to a chemical storage area!
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Matilda
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Post by Matilda on Aug 13, 2015 16:45:39 GMT 10
I'm glad your're fine tyburn! It was a terrible accident. I was trying to work out if those videoing this particular clip were Police or Security as they seem to be talking thru 2-way. Mighty big explosions though and these fellows probably felt the heat all that distance away.
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Post by SA Hunter on Aug 13, 2015 20:26:32 GMT 10
Glad all is well - my first thought was "Oh crap, another terrorist attack".
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Aug 14, 2015 11:27:36 GMT 10
Death toll at 50 and at least 700 injured...
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-13/tianjin-explosion-44-killed-safety-officials-met-week-earlier/6696260
Officials from the Chinese city of Tianjin, where two huge blasts killed 50 people, have revealed they discussed tightening safety standards with companies at the port just one week ago.
The explosions tore through an industrial area containing toxic chemicals and gas, ripping apart buildings, blowing out windows kilometres away, and injuring at least 700 people, officials and state media said.
The People's Daily newspaper said four fires were still burning 24 hours later.
The Tianjin Administration of Work Safety posted a notice about a meeting with companies handling dangerous chemicals at the port on its website on August 6.
It did not give a specific date of when the meeting took place.
The Xinhua news agency said the explosions, the first equivalent to three tonnes of TNT and the second to 21 tonnes of TNT, ripped through a warehouse owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Ruihai International Logistics.
The company's website said it was a government-approved firm specialising in handling "dangerous goods".
Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
China's safety bureau said the company had violated packaging standards during a safety inspection two years ago.
Of 4,325 containers owned by Ruihai Logistics that were checked, five failed the inspection because packaging was sub-standard, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration said.
In a report, it said it had inspected more than 14,000 containers in total and found that 29 from the five firms had failed the packaging checks, with the main problem being inappropriate danger labelling.
The inspection report did not provide further details about what was wrong with the packaging
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tyburn
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Post by tyburn on Aug 14, 2015 16:33:46 GMT 10
Unfortunately this type of accident seems to happen fairly often in China; not always so large, but always with dozens of deaths.
I was asking my colleagues this morning if they have any done any first aid training? "Nope, never learned anything like that". We did do fire extinguisher training at our last fire drill, but that is about the limit of any type of preparedness most people would have.
Was surprised to see pictures of people sleeping outside on Wednesday night, as they thought there had been an earthquake. It was probably the worst place to be, as the local authorities have since been telling people to stay inside with the windows shut due to the chemical residues still floating around in the air now, 1.5 days after the explosion.
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Aug 21, 2015 10:13:08 GMT 10
Some nasty fallout from the explosion, very high cyanide readings and who really knows what else.... (Don't think I would trying the life-straw out in that water either)
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-20/cyanide-356-times-limits-found-at-china-blast-test-point/6713282
Cyanide levels more than 350 times standard limits have been detected in water close to the site of deadly explosions in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, officials said.
The Tianjin environmental protection bureau said the chemical was detected at 25 water monitoring sites within the cordoned-off area around the blast site on Wednesday.
"An excessive level of cyanide was detected in eight locations with the highest reaching 356 times" the permitted level, the bureau said.
Authorities have previously said that cyanide tests had shown levels 28 times the limit. The environmental bureau statement did not explain the sudden spike.
Of the 16 test points outside the alert area, cyanide was detected at six, but all below the normal limit, the bureau said.
What is sodium cyanide? •Used for fumigation, extracting gold and silver from ores, and chemical manufacturing •Releases hydrogen cyanide gas — a highly toxic asphyxiant that interferes with the body's ability to use oxygen •Can affect the body through ingestion, inhalation, skin contact, or eye contact •Exposure affects the brain, heart, blood vessels and lungs and can be rapidly fatal •Sodium cyanide is odourless when dry; many people can't detect hydrogen cyanide gas either Source: US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The blasts at a hazardous good storage facility last week triggered a giant fireball, destroying high-rise apartments and killing at least 114 people. More than 60 others are missing, with seven of the recovered bodies yet to be identified.
The explosions have also sparked fears of toxic pollutants contaminating the air and water of the city, which has a population of around 15 million people.
About 700 tonnes of highly poisonous sodium cyanide were at the site, officials have said.
Sodium cyanide, which has a variety of industrial uses including gold mining, is a toxic white crystal or powder. It can release hydrogen cyanide gas, used in gas chamber executions in the US.
Acute exposure at lower concentrations can cause weakness, nausea and eye and skin irritation while chronic exposure can affect the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
State broadcaster CCTV reported the average level of cyanide in the water filling a huge crater at the centre of the blast site was more than 40 times average.
"All the polluted water is contained in the cordoned off area," environment protection official Tian Weiyong told reporters.
"We won't drain it until we clean it up."
Recovery personnel have built a dam of sand and earth around the blasts' central 100,000-square-metre "core area" to prevent pollutant leakage and officials insist air and water are safe.
But locals openly express doubts and international environmental environment group Greenpeace has urged caution
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