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New Concerns in Tianjin Blast After Dead Fish Are Found New Concerns in Tianjin Blast After Dead Fish Are Found
(about 1 hour later)
TIANJIN, China — Officials grappling with the toxic fallout from a series of deadly explosions that rocked this northern port city last week found themselves struggling on Thursday to explain thousands of dead fish that washed up on a riverbank less than four miles away from the blast site. TIANJIN, China — Officials grappling with the toxic fallout from a series of deadly explosions that rocked this northern port city last week found themselves struggling on Thursday to explain thousands of dead fish that washed up on a riverbank less than four miles away from the blast site.
News of the marine die-off coincided with reports that wastewater runoff near the site of the explosions contained hundreds of times as much cyanide as the maximum level allowed by law. Sodium cyanide, a chemical widely used in gold mining operations, can be toxic to humans even in minuscule quantities.News of the marine die-off coincided with reports that wastewater runoff near the site of the explosions contained hundreds of times as much cyanide as the maximum level allowed by law. Sodium cyanide, a chemical widely used in gold mining operations, can be toxic to humans even in minuscule quantities.
The authorities have acknowledged that at least 700 tons of sodium cyanide were stored at the warehouse that exploded on Aug. 12, killing more than 100 people and injuring hundreds more.The authorities have acknowledged that at least 700 tons of sodium cyanide were stored at the warehouse that exploded on Aug. 12, killing more than 100 people and injuring hundreds more.
At least 65 people remain unaccounted for and presumed dead from the disaster, most of them firefighters.At least 65 people remain unaccounted for and presumed dead from the disaster, most of them firefighters.
Throngs of curious onlookers gathered on Thursday on the banks of the Haihe River to take pictures of the grim scene of dead fish, while officials tried to reassure the public. Mass die-offs are not unusual in the summer, when oxygen levels in the polluted river water can fall sharply, the officials said.Throngs of curious onlookers gathered on Thursday on the banks of the Haihe River to take pictures of the grim scene of dead fish, while officials tried to reassure the public. Mass die-offs are not unusual in the summer, when oxygen levels in the polluted river water can fall sharply, the officials said.
The state-owned China Central Television reported later that tests found no significant presence of cyanide in that part of the river.The state-owned China Central Television reported later that tests found no significant presence of cyanide in that part of the river.
The official assurances seemed to fall on deaf ears.The official assurances seemed to fall on deaf ears.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Wang Lei, 47, a freight company manager who wore a face mask as he surveyed the putrid mass of dead fish clogging the river’s rocky shallows. “There has to be a link between the dead fish and the blast. What else could explain the death of so many?” “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Wang Lei, 47, a freight company manager who wore a face mask as he surveyed the mass of dead fish clogging the river’s shallows. “There has to be a link between the dead fish and the blast. What else could explain the death of so many?”
Photos of the dead fish were posted widely on Chinese social media, feeding public worries over the tons of chemicals that were in the warehouse. The authorities have already said the logistics company that operated the facility broke the law by storing such dangerous materials too close to apartment houses, highways and public buildings.Photos of the dead fish were posted widely on Chinese social media, feeding public worries over the tons of chemicals that were in the warehouse. The authorities have already said the logistics company that operated the facility broke the law by storing such dangerous materials too close to apartment houses, highways and public buildings.
Chinese officials are contending with a public that is losing patience. Residents of the area near the blast site have staged protests, demanding compensation for their damaged homes, while the anguished families of firefighters who first responded to the blaze sought word on their missing loved ones.Chinese officials are contending with a public that is losing patience. Residents of the area near the blast site have staged protests, demanding compensation for their damaged homes, while the anguished families of firefighters who first responded to the blaze sought word on their missing loved ones.
At a Politburo meeting on Thursday, President Xi Jinping promised a full investigation of the disaster.At a Politburo meeting on Thursday, President Xi Jinping promised a full investigation of the disaster.
“The incident has caused heavy casualties and property loss,” he said, according to a statement released after the meeting. “It was a profound lesson paid with blood.”“The incident has caused heavy casualties and property loss,” he said, according to a statement released after the meeting. “It was a profound lesson paid with blood.”
Officials have said that the company, Rui Hai International Logistics, was storing at least 2,500 tons of hazardous chemicals in the warehouse. They have not published a detailed inventory, but have said there were as many as 40 substances present, including volatile compounds like ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate. Officials have said that the company, Rui Hai International Logistics, was storing at least 2,500 tons of hazardous chemicals in the warehouse.
The government said last week that sodium cyanide had been found in sewer pipes below the Binhai New Area port zone, where the blast took place, and that the drainage pipes were sealed to contain the chemicals.
On Thursday, a phalanx of backhoes and bulldozers continued work at the blast site, while hundreds of sweat-soaked men from a military chemical unit sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the wreckage from tanks on their backs. Hydrogen peroxide stops sodium cyanide from releasing deadly hydrogen cyanide gas.
A few dozen yards away, residents of a damaged apartment compound overlooking the disaster zone were escorted into their homes to retrieve as many possessions as they could carry.
Some of those who gathered at the banks of the Haihe River complained that their throats were irritated.
At a news conference on Thursday, Deng Xiaowen, the director of the Tianjin Environmental Monitoring Center, said officials were investigating the cause of the fish die-off, but he cautioned against blaming chemicals from the blast site. He said it was not uncommon for dead fish to appear in the river during the summer, when algae blooms and industrial runoff can rob the river water of its dissolved oxygen.
A similar mass fish die-off happened in July 2011, when pollutants “suffocated and choked” aquatic life in the river, state media reported at the time.
Tian Weiyong, the director of the emergency department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said officials were working to address the high levels of cyanide detected in local wastewater. He said it came from the runoff of the huge amounts of water that firefighters sprayed on the fire at the warehouse — a move that probably touched off the huge explosions.
The immediate surroundings of the blast site have since been ringed with earthen berms to contain surface runoff. Mr. Tian said that tests of some water samples taken outside the berms found cyanide at more than eight times normal levels, but most met safety standards. He did not specify what water sources were tested.
Wu Yixiu of Greenpeace in China said there was probably an array of toxic chemicals in the water that had yet to be detected.
“There is simply not enough time to conduct a chemical screen to understand the scale of the pollutants, thus not enough understanding on the potential risks,” Ms. Wu wrote in an email.