Poor maintenance cited in chemical plant blast
A safety expert from the Ministry of Emergency Management said recently that the explosion at a chemical plant in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, that claimed 23 lives last month, was the result of sloppy management, poor maintenance and the mishandling of the emergency.
The preliminary investigation found that the explosion on Nov 28 was caused by a leak of vinyl chloride gas, a highly flammable substance, from a storage facility at Hebei Shenghua Chemical Industry's plant. The facility housed three gas storage tanks, two of which were filled with the explosive chemical.
Sun Guangyu, the ministry's director of safety supervision and management of hazardous chemicals, said such tanks should be inspected and serviced every one to two years, and undergo major maintenance work every five to six years, according to a China Central Television report on Sunday.
