Chemical plant hazards must not be simply moved elsewhere

THE YANCHENG MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT decided to permanently shut down the chemical industrial park in Xiangshui county, Jiangsu province, where an explosion claimed 78 lives on March 21. China Daily reporter Li Yang comments:

The Jiangsu provincial government has also vowed to cut its 50 provincial-level chemical industrial parks to about 20, and markedly downsize the scale of chemical industries along the Yangtze Rivers and its tributaries.

These decisions, which must have been hard to make as they will undoubtedly affect local economic growth when carried out, show the resolve of Jiangsu to improve the work safety conditions of one of its backbone industries. The province seems intent on taking the accident as an opportunity to upgrade its chemical industries. If so, the Xiangshui blast will be a watershed moment for the province.