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Government Offers Few Answers After Shenzhen Landslide Before Shenzhen Landslide, Many Saw Warning Signs as Debris Swelled
(about 5 hours later)
SHENZHEN, China — Until a few days ago, Wang Shanjie, a stocky Hunanese truck driver, made a living hauling tons of dirt and debris from building sites across this southern Chinese boomtown to a massive, ever-growing heap at the Hong’ao Construction Waste Dump. SHENZHEN, China — As the mountain of earth grew, so did the warnings.
On Tuesday, two days after that unstable pile collapsed and engulfed dozens of buildings, Mr. Wang was undoing his work, one of hundreds of truck drivers who were hauling away the same dirt while rescuers searched for survivors swallowed up by it. The construction waste dump on the outskirts of Shenzhen was prone to dangerous erosion, an environmental impact report said. The city’s expanding piles of building waste presented a “crisis,” a Shenzhen newspaper wrote. Even truck drivers who dumped tons of construction debris and displaced earth there each day recalled a pang of anxiety as they watched the dumpsite swell.
As he waited his turn, he voiced a sentiment repeated by many residents here: The risks presented by the mountain of debris were plain to see. “My personal view is that it had to collapse sometime,” he said. But the alarms got little attention until the accumulation of building waste collapsed here, burying homes and factories, and forcing Chinese officials, investigators, journalists and families waiting for news of the 76 still missing to ask: If so many saw the risks, why was nothing done?
“Even we were afraid,” he added. “I don’t know what to think. We brought the dirt here, and now we have to haul it out.” “Everyone seems to have some of the responsibility,” said Liang Jianping, a migrant worker in Shenzhen who was hoping for word of his missing cousin, a worker in a factory near where the disaster struck on Sunday.
As the first body was recovered on Tuesday from the expanse of ocher-red mud that covers the disaster site, with 76 people still reported missing and the death toll expected to rise, the government was muted about who, if anyone, would be held accountable for what the local news media have already labeled China’s latest “man-made disaster.” Several government agencies have begun investigations into the disaster, and a Chinese news report said that the police had taken away a deputy general manager of a company that ran the construction materials dump. “The officials, the companies, the truck drivers, they were all here, they saw what was happening,” Mr. Liang said. “But there were no safety assurances. Everyone should share some of the blame, I think.”
Nor did the government offer an answer to the question implicit in Mr. Wang’s remarks: If so many neighbors, drivers and environmental consultants saw the risk at the dumpsite, why did no one do anything about it? As of Wednesday, the authorities confirmed that they had recovered only one body from the dense red earth and mud — up to 32 feet deep — that swamped an area equivalent to more than 70 American football fields.
The deadly mountain was built to solve another problem, the haphazard dumping of dirt and construction waste in sometimes dangerous or environmentally hazardous ways in Shenzhen, which is trying to turn itself from a brash manufacturing hub into a high-tech innovator. More bodies are likely to be recovered in the coming days, and officials in Shenzhen appeared prepared to blunt public ire by moving against the company that operated the dumpsite. A Chinese news report said a deputy general manager had been taken away by the police.
Shenzhen has undergone breathless growth since the 1980s, each phase of its evolution bringing a fresh wave of building, demolition and encroachment on farmland. The Guangming New District, the site of the landslide, is on the outskirts of Shenzhen, near the scrappier manufacturing zone of Dongguan. And throughout the district, older, dilapidated factories were being torn down to make way for bigger, more modern plants. A subway is also being built through the district. But survivors, families of the missing, and even China’s usually shackled news media appeared to demand more this time than the ritualized arrests and convictions that follow disasters here. Some said there had to be a deeper reckoning with the hazards created by China’s once breathless sprint for prosperity, which has been a hallmark of Shenzhen’s expansion.
Construction waste has been an unwelcome byproduct of that transformation process across China. The rate of construction waste recycling is low in mainland China compared with neighbors like Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. And China’s management of the massive amounts of dirt, broken concrete and other materials is far weaker. “They were dumping dirt here day and night,” said one displaced resident. He gave only his surname, Zhang, fearing reprisal if he spoke to foreign media. “We complained, but the government turned a blind eye,” he said, while he and his family waited to be put on a bus to a hotel arranged by the government.
In Guangming New District, the establishment of the dump in the site of a former quarry had been seen as a solution to the growing problem of such waste being dumped illegally at locations around the city. In 2013, after the closing of an overfilled site for receiving construction materials, that situation had become extreme. The police patrolled the city at night to prevent dump trucks from depositing construction waste in parks, drainage ditches or roadways, the state broadcaster CCTV reported at the time. “I’m not saying that they could have seen this coming, but they could see the problems, they were obvious,” Mr. Zhang said.
The dump in the former quarry opened around then. Operation of the site was originally contracted out to the Luwei Property Management company, which in turn subcontracted the site to another company, Yixianglong Investment. Residents and drivers say that it soon began taking in huge amounts of material, with the din of trucks rattling through the early hours of the morning. “This is not just a problem for Shenzhen, but a problem for all of China,” said Yuan Hongping, an associate professor at Southwest Jiaotong University in Sichuan Province who has researched construction waste disposal methods in south China.
“The biggest problem is that there are regulations, but they are not always followed,” he said.
The deadly mound was built to solve another problem, the haphazard dumping of dirt and construction waste in sometimes dangerous or environmentally hazardous ways in Shenzhen, which is trying to shift from a manufacturing hub to a high-tech incubator.
The city has been transformed since the 1980s, with each phase of economic growth bringing a fresh wave of building, demolition and encroachment on farmland. The Guangming New District, the site of the landslide, is on the outskirts of Shenzhen, near the scrappier manufacturing zone of Dongguan. And throughout the district, older, dilapidated factories were being torn down to make way for bigger, more modern plants. A subway is also being built through the district.
Construction waste has been an unwelcome byproduct of that transformation process — here in southern China and in other cities. The rate of construction waste recycling is low in mainland China compared with neighbors like Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. And China’s management of the massive amounts of dirt, broken concrete and other materials is far weaker.
In Guangming New District, the establishment of the dump on the site of a former quarry had been seen as a solution to the growing problem of such waste being dumped illegally at locations around the city. In 2013, after the closing of an overfilled site for receiving construction materials, that situation had become extreme. The police patrolled the city at night to prevent dump trucks from depositing construction waste in parks, drainage ditches or roadways, the state broadcaster CCTV reported at the time.
The dump in the former quarry opened around then. Operation of the site was originally contracted out to the Lüwei Property Management company, which in turn subcontracted the site to another company, Yixianglong Investment. Residents and drivers say that it soon began taking in huge amounts of material, with the din of trucks rattling throughout the night.
The local government promoted the dump at Hong’ao Village in its 2014 work report as part of efforts to provide “strong protection” for “construction waste from the new district’s key projects.”The local government promoted the dump at Hong’ao Village in its 2014 work report as part of efforts to provide “strong protection” for “construction waste from the new district’s key projects.”
But as the mountain of earth grew, blaring alarms were ignored. In January, an environmental consulting firm, Zongxing Technology, published an assessment warning that erosion at the site was “threatening the safety of hills and slopes.” But concern was growing. In January, an environmental consulting firm, Zongxing Technology, published an assessment warning that erosion at the site was “threatening the safety of hills and slopes.”
Work was suspended “because of previous irregular operation methods,” the environmental assessment said, according to the Legal Daily, a newspaper run by China’s Ministry of Justice. But how long the suspension lasted is unclear.Work was suspended “because of previous irregular operation methods,” the environmental assessment said, according to the Legal Daily, a newspaper run by China’s Ministry of Justice. But how long the suspension lasted is unclear.
Trucks were still dumping soil days before the landslide Sunday morning, according to drivers and neighbors. Last October, The Shenzhen Evening News newspaper published a lengthy investigation about the city’s overwhelming amounts of construction waste.
At the office of Luwei Property Management, the company contracted to operate the site, managers avoided answering questions about the disaster, but an office manager handed out copies of documents, including what she said was the two-page contract with the subcontractor, Yixianglong. She gave only her surname, Zeng. “Shenzhen’s urban renewal and rapid infrastructure construction have also brought grave problems with disposal of construction waste,” the article said. “Many cities have had problems with the secret transport and dumping of building waste across jurisdictions, and it has also created a business in illegal disposal sites.”
The document indicated that Yixianglong paid 750,000 renminbi, or about $115,000, to assume operation of the dumping site. Trucks were still dumping soil days before the landslide on Sunday morning, according to drivers and neighbors around the Hong’ao Construction Waste Dump.
Ms. Zeng said that as far as she knew, the two companies had not done business before. At the office of Lüwei Property Management, the company contracted to operate the site, managers avoided answering questions, but an office manager handed out copies of documents, including what she said was the two-page contract with the subcontractor, Yixianglong. She gave only her surname, Zeng.
The document indicated that Yixianglong paid 750,000 renminbi, or about $115,000, to assume operation of the dumping site. Ms. Zeng said that as far as she knew, the two companies had not done business before.
“If there are safety accidents or other major contingencies during operations,” Yixianglong would shoulder all responsibility, the July 2013 agreement says.“If there are safety accidents or other major contingencies during operations,” Yixianglong would shoulder all responsibility, the July 2013 agreement says.
On Tuesday, the police in Shenzhen took away a deputy general manager of the Yixianglong company and also took a computer and documents from the company’s offices, China National Radio reported on its website. The report said the deputy general manager’s surname was Yu, but it offered no other details. Reuters said one of its reporters saw the police at two Yixianglong offices Tuesday in Shenzhen. On Tuesday, the police led away a deputy general manager of Yixianglong, and took a computer and documents from the company’s offices, China National Radio reported on its website. Reuters said one of its reporters saw the police at two Yixianglong offices on Tuesday.
Shenzhen now has at least eight sites that receive construction waste. The dumpsite operators make money on each load they receive, creating an incentive for high intake and ignoring restrictions. Shenzhen now has at least eight sites that receive construction waste. The dumpsite operators make money on each load they receive, creating an incentive for high intake — and to ignore restrictions.
“This is not just a problem for Shenzhen, but a problem for all of China,” said Yuan Hongping, an associate professor at Southwest Jiaotong University in Sichuan Province who has researched construction waste disposal methods in south China. Practices followed in neighboring Hong Kong, like raising fees to encourage the reuse of materials and monitoring trucks with GPS to prevent illegal dumping, have been considered in Shenzhen but not widely put into place, said Mr. Yuan, the construction waste expert.
Practices followed in nearby Hong Kong, such as raising fees to encourage the reuse of materials and monitoring trucks with GPS to prevent illegal dumping, have been considered in Shenzhen but not widely put into place, Mr. Yuan said.
Still, Mr. Yuan said Shenzhen is considered to be ahead of most other mainland Chinese cities in handling such material. But the disastrous landslide reflects a common problem of governance, he said.
“The biggest problem is that there are regulations, but they are not always followed,” he said.
At the disaster site in Hong’ao Village, whose name means red hollow, trucks continued to move piles of ocher earth, this time away from the massive spill to other collection points around the city.At the disaster site in Hong’ao Village, whose name means red hollow, trucks continued to move piles of ocher earth, this time away from the massive spill to other collection points around the city.
One driver, who only gave his surname, Zhang, said he came to the site a few times previously this year, bringing soil from a subway project. Others brought material from real estate projects, particularly in the Guangming New District. Until a few days ago, Wang Shanjie, a stocky Hunanese truck driver, made a living hauling tons of dirt and debris from building sites to the Hong’ao dumpsite. On Tuesday, he was undoing his work, one of hundreds of truck drivers who were hauling away the same dirt while rescuers searched for survivors swallowed up by it.
Asked why he returned to clear away dirt, a small part of which he himself dumped, he said, “I only did what I was asked to do, the same with the rescue this time.” “My personal view is that it had to collapse sometime,” Mr. Wang said as he waited his turn to enter the disaster site. “Even we were afraid.”
But he shrugged at questions about who was responsible.
“I don’t know what to think,” he said. “We brought the dirt here, and now we have to haul it out.”