Hundreds of tons of highly-poisonous cyanide were being stored at the warehouse devastated by two giant explosions in the Chinese port of Tianjin which killed 112.
More than 720 people remained in hospital four days after Wednesday’s disaster, which sent massive yellow and orange fireballs into the sky, rained burning debris onto a vast industrial zone, crumpled cars and shipping containers, burnt out buildings and shattered windows of nearby apartments.
The cyanide admission by Shi Luze, chief of the general staff of the Beijing military region, is the first official confirmation of the presence of the chemical at the hazardous goods storage facility at the centre of the blast.
The disaster has raised fears of toxic contamination and residents and victims’ families hit out at authorities for what they said was an information blackout, as China suspended or shut down dozens of websites for spreading “rumours”.
Nearly 100 people remain missing, including 85 firefighters, though officials cautioned that some could be among the 88 unidentified corpses so far found.
Emergency workers were yesterday still struggling to put out fires since the blast, with fresh explosions on Saturday.
Shi, who is a general, told a news conference that cyanide had been identified at two locations in the blast zone. “The preliminary volume estimate was about several hundreds of tonnes,” he said.
A military team of 217 chemical and nuclear experts was deployed early on, and earlier Chinese reports said 700 tons of sodium cyanide were at the site.
Officials have called in experts from the producers of the material – exposure to which the US Centre for Disease Control says can be “rapidly fatal” – to help handle it. The neutralising agent hydrogen peroxide has been used.
Authorities have repeatedly sought to reassure the public, insisting that despite the presence of some pollutants at levels above normal standards, the air in Tianjin remains safe to breathe.
But the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday cyanide density in waste water had been 10.9 times the standard on the day following the explosions. It had since fallen but was still more than twice the normal limit.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said yesterday it had tested surface water for cyanide at four locations and had not detected high levels.
“These results show local water supplies are not currently severely contaminated with cyanide,” it said. But this did not prove or disprove whether other hazardous chemicals were in the water.
Greenpeace reiterated its call for a comprehensive survey of hazardous chemicals in the air and water and for the results to be made public.
On Saturday a 3km radius from the site of the blasts was evacuated, state-run media reported. Officials said later the reports were inaccurate, but barriers prevented access and people were seen leaving the largely devastated zone.
Tianjin residents, relatives of the victims and online commentators have slammed local authorities for a lack of transparency, including trying to storm a news conference on Saturday.
Yesterday, sobbing men confronted security at the hotel where officials have been briefing journalists, with one shouting “Police, I will kill someone!” in what appeared to be a desperate bid to draw attention before being comforted by a policeman.
Another lashed out at reporters attempting to photograph him, saying: “Don’t take my photo, it is useless. The news has no truth!”
The government has moved to limit criticism of the handling of the aftermath, with 50 websites punished for “creating panic by publishing unverified information or letting users spread groundless rumours”, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China.
Critical posts on social media have also been blocked, and more than 360 social media accounts have been suspended or closed down. — AFP-Reuters
Cyanide revelation follows China blast
More than 720 people remained in hospital four days after Wednesday’s disaster, which sent massive yellow and orange fireballs into the sky, rained burning debris onto a vast industrial zone, crumpled cars and shipping containers, burnt out buildings and shattered windows of nearby apartments.
The cyanide admission by Shi Luze, chief of the general staff of the Beijing military region, is the first official confirmation of the presence of the chemical at the hazardous goods storage facility at the centre of the blast.
The disaster has raised fears of toxic contamination and residents and victims’ families hit out at authorities for what they said was an information blackout, as China suspended or shut down dozens of websites for spreading “rumours”.
Nearly 100 people remain missing, including 85 firefighters, though officials cautioned that some could be among the 88 unidentified corpses so far found.
Emergency workers were yesterday still struggling to put out fires since the blast, with fresh explosions on Saturday.
Shi, who is a general, told a news conference that cyanide had been identified at two locations in the blast zone. “The preliminary volume estimate was about several hundreds of tonnes,” he said.
A military team of 217 chemical and nuclear experts was deployed early on, and earlier Chinese reports said 700 tons of sodium cyanide were at the site.
Officials have called in experts from the producers of the material – exposure to which the US Centre for Disease Control says can be “rapidly fatal” – to help handle it. The neutralising agent hydrogen peroxide has been used.
Authorities have repeatedly sought to reassure the public, insisting that despite the presence of some pollutants at levels above normal standards, the air in Tianjin remains safe to breathe.
But the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday cyanide density in waste water had been 10.9 times the standard on the day following the explosions. It had since fallen but was still more than twice the normal limit.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said yesterday it had tested surface water for cyanide at four locations and had not detected high levels.
“These results show local water supplies are not currently severely contaminated with cyanide,” it said. But this did not prove or disprove whether other hazardous chemicals were in the water.
Greenpeace reiterated its call for a comprehensive survey of hazardous chemicals in the air and water and for the results to be made public.
On Saturday a 3km radius from the site of the blasts was evacuated, state-run media reported. Officials said later the reports were inaccurate, but barriers prevented access and people were seen leaving the largely devastated zone.
Tianjin residents, relatives of the victims and online commentators have slammed local authorities for a lack of transparency, including trying to storm a news conference on Saturday.
Yesterday, sobbing men confronted security at the hotel where officials have been briefing journalists, with one shouting “Police, I will kill someone!” in what appeared to be a desperate bid to draw attention before being comforted by a policeman.
Another lashed out at reporters attempting to photograph him, saying: “Don’t take my photo, it is useless. The news has no truth!”
The government has moved to limit criticism of the handling of the aftermath, with 50 websites punished for “creating panic by publishing unverified information or letting users spread groundless rumours”, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China.
Critical posts on social media have also been blocked, and more than 360 social media accounts have been suspended or closed down. — AFP-Reuters
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