At 2:48 p.m. on March 21, 2019, a serious
explosion occurred in Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd (Tianjiayi Chemical) which is
located in the ecological chemical park in Xiangshui county, Yancheng city,
Jiangsu province, causing 78 deaths and 76 injuries. 640 people were
hospitalized, and the economic loss was around RMB 1.9 billion.
According to the result from an investigation
group of the accident, the direct cause of the accident was that Tianjiayi
Chemical illegally kept nitration waste in storage over a long period of time.
The temperature of the nitration waste continued to rise, which eventually led
to autoignition. The investigation group concluded that Tianjiayi Chemical
ignored the laws and regulations of environmental protection and production
safety. The company gave false reports of their chemical materials and
illegally stored and disposed of nitration waste.
Experts
convene to discuss continual hazardous waste accidents
Due to the fact
that accidents caused by hazardous wastes have continued to occur since the
famous hazardous waste accident in Xiangshui on March 21, 2019, many experts in
China held a live broadcast on chemical safety on March 20 in order to strengthen
the management of hazardous wastes.
There are various
problems when it comes to disposal and utilization of hazardous wastes in
China. First, a large amount of hazardous waste from different areas is
produced in China every day, and the waste includes a variety of chemical
components. Second, business in hazardous waste disposal is inefficient. For
example, in 2017, the standard for business in hazardous waste disposal in
China was to dispose and reuse around 8,178 tons of waste throughout the year.
However, on average, industries only disposed and reused 2,252 tons of waste.
In terms of pesticide industries, pollution from hazardous waste has already
become a key issue with regard to environmental protection.
With the revision
of the law and regulations on hazardous waste, the trending plan for building
‘zero-waste cities’ in China, as well as the formulation of standardized
policies to deal with hazardous waste, recently many cities in China have set
up management systems for tracking the production, transportation and disposal
of hazardous waste.
Stricter
management of hazardous wastes needed in China
Experts believe
that the number of chemical accidents is most likely related to hazardous
waste. “Just like food products, hazardous waste also has its expiration date.
It is wrong to think that if material is safe when it is produced, it will
always be safe even if it turns into waste after being used. The accident that
happened in Xiangshui on March 21, 2019 is a typical example the danger of waste
products.” Experts also think that a fundamental problem regarding hazardous
waste disposal is reducing the volume of chemical material production.
Industries should fully consider production volume, processing costs, and
safety issues when it comes to choosing a technology to produce chemical
materials.
In terms of
managing hazardous waste in industrial parks, experts believe that it is
important for industries to strictly evaluate their projects before
implementing their projects in industrial parks. Additionally, professionals
should be hired to investigate and solve hidden environmental danger caused by
hazardous waste. Finally, industries should sign an agreement with industrial
parks to dispose of hazardous waste immediately after it is produced.
For more
information on China’s industry trends, please check our Online Database.