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#10: Where Did the Tianjin Explosion Happen? The Warehouse

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Tianjin is a port city, bordering the Hebei (HEUH-bay) Province and Beijing Municipality in China. Its urban population is the fourth largest in the country - behind cities like Guangzhou (gwong-cho), Shanghai and Beijing itself - and it’s considered one of China’s most rapidly advancing areas for industrial and financial activity, with about 285 Fortune 500 companies set up in Tianjin’s Binhai (BEAN-high) region. The August 12th, 2015 explosion took place in a building owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Ruihai International Logistics (tyAN-jin dong-jow port ruy-high international logistics), in an area reportedly used to store ‘dangerous and chemical goods’. Early suggestions said that the two separate blasts occurred following a series of chemical reactions, most likely exacerbated by the presence of water on site.

#9: What Has Been the Death Toll? The Detonation

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The trouble began with an earlier initial blaze, on which it’s believed fire fighters were using water hoses in an attempt to prevent further damage. However, the chemical compound calcium carbide is also believed to have been stored at the location, which reacts dangerously with water, and likely caused the first explosion. From there, a second ammonium nitrate detonation was triggered. The death toll continued to rise following the incident, but official figures had the number of dead at 114 as of August 17th, 2015, with close to another 100 people still missing. Large amounts of the missing or deceased are fire fighters who had been attending to the scene. More than 720 people were initially taken to hospital with injuries, with the numbers rising by the day.

The first blast had a power equivalent to three tons of TNT detonating, while the second explosion was equivalent to 21 tons. An evacuation was issued within 2 miles of the site, damage from the blast was felt several miles from its center, and the second fireball was so big it was actually visible to satellites orbiting Earth. Apart from the human casualties and injury, the blasts occurring within an industrial epicenter have caused untold devastation to local (and international) businesses and factories. In one instance, car manufacturer Renault saw around 1,500 of its cars irreparably torched in an instant.

#7: Were There Lax Safety Standards? The Guidelines

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Early indications suggested that the safety standards in place were lower than they should’ve been - and that authorities had been aware of chemical storage inadequacies. Reports emerged that city officials had met with Ruihai Logistics recently, to discuss tightening regulations - an issue especially with small/medium businesses, where procedures are outdated. Major criticism focused on the fact that a building housing chemicals as potentially dangerous and hazardous as these should not have been situated within such close proximity to main roads, office blocks and housing developments. Another concern related to the apparent inability of Chinese industrial workers to complain to managers and superiors whenever a problem or potential danger has been identified.

For all of the apparent inadequacies in China, however, this is not the first time something like this has happened - and North America itself has a troubling recent history. On July 6th, 2013, a massive explosion occurred in Quebec, Canada, after a freight train carrying Bakken (bawkken) formation crude oil ran out of control, crashing into the downtown area of Lac-Megantic. Forty-two people were confirmed dead, with five more missing and presumed dead, and all but three buildings in the town’s center either destroyed on impact, or subsequently demolished due to contamination. It was the deadliest non-passenger train crash to ever occur in Canada.

On March 23rd, 2005, another massive explosion occurred in the petrochemical-manufacturing center of Texas City, USA. At the time of the accident, BP’s Texas City refinery was the third biggest of its type in the US. However, the road toward the company’s eventual 2013 sale of the plant was laid when a hydrocarbon vapor cloud combusted, after coming into contact with some form of ignition source, presumably a powered vehicle engine. The explosion killed fifteen site workers, and injured more than 170 others. Various investigation reports into the disaster identified inadequate safety and organizational standards.

#4: What Has Been the State’s Reaction? The Concealment

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In truth, the Tianjin explosion proved to be an exceptionally difficult news story to follow, mainly because of how hard it can be to obtain official information from China itself. As of mid-August 2015, the international community remained unsure of exactly how the explosions were triggered, and exactly which chemicals might’ve been involved. It was thought that the aforementioned calcium carbide was stored in Tianjin, and it was also believed that sodium cyanide was kept at the port - another deadly chemical when humans are exposed to it. However, with so few hard facts coming out of China, it was not only difficult to assess the explosion itself, but also to assess any long-term problems for Tianjin and its population. There are suggestions as well that the state itself was more closely related to the mismanagement of Tianjin port, promoting accusations of concealment from both inside and outside of China.

#3: What Are the Safety Standards in China? The Laws

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Historically, China doesn’t possess a healthy record when it comes to standards of safety for its people. This is not the first time there have been fatalities that might’ve been avoided. In 2011, over 75,000 people died in China because of work-related injuries, while road accidents and a lack of road safety account for around 70,000 deaths per year in the country. In fact, in August 2014 (just a little over one year before the Tianjin disaster) dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured following an explosion at a wheel-polishing plant in Jiangsu (jiahng-soo) Province. Then, the Chinese State Administration of Work Safety cited ‘very serious dereliction of duty’ as a cause – but times do not seem to have changed since then.

#2: How Will the Port and City Recover? The Cleanup

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In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, one of the most pressing concerns was the quality of air in Tianjin - particularly as wind speeds and directions changed. An evacuation zone was put in place around the blast site, and military chemical specialists were deployed within it. Chinese officials assured that, though the air was toxic at the time, it served no threat to the population outside of the evacuation area. The public outcry over the disaster, however, was significant. Those residents living closest to the port staged rare protests, as they sought compensation from the government for their damaged homes, as well as for potential contamination to the drinking water supply. Residents argued that they could be living on a time bomb, which, having exploded once, could do so again.

The very fact that protests were staged, and received significant press attention was indicative of the magnitude and scale of China’s situation following the explosions. The fear was that the Tianjin disaster would quickly fade into the country’s history as ‘just another deadly explosion’. However, the hope was that the tragedy could be construed as a watershed moment. The shocking footage of each blast was seen the world over, and was therefore, perhaps, less likely to be forgotten. With questions fired at the Chinese government from Tianjin residents themselves, as well as from outside of China, answers and action were necessary and unavoidable. Should a similar disaster occur in the future, the criticism will only come again, but will come with even greater strength. Did these facts get you thinking? To vote for which news story is covered next head over to WatchMojo.com/suggest, and be sure to hit that subscribe button for more newsworthy top tens published every week!