Leak Causes Another Blast at Chemical Plant Targeted by Protesters
A leak at a plant in the eastern province of Fujian has set off a huge explosion, injuring at least 12 people and fueling doubts about safety at chemical factories.
The explosion shortly before 7 p.m. Monday has been traced to a leak from a xylene tank at the Dragon Aromatics plant in the city of Zhangzhou, the Fujian Provincial Administration of Work Safety. Two people were seriously injured and 10 others suffered minor injuries, Xinhua, the state news agency.
The force of the blast was felt for miles around. “It was like it exploded next to my house,” a man who lives 18 miles from the plant Southern Metropolis Daily, based in Guangzhou.
The explosion ignited three storage tanks, and flames continued to burn through the evening, Xinhua reported. More than 750 firefighters and police officers responded to the emergency, the authorities said.
The plant produces paraxylene, also known as PX, a chemical used in the manufacture of plastics and polyester that has been the target of large environmental protests in China. The plant had originally been planned for the coastal city of Xiamen, but local resistance there in 2007 led to its being moved to a less-developed area about 60 miles inland.
The explosions Monday were the second major accident at the plant in less than two years. In 2013, an explosion ripped through the plant, damaging nearby homes but causing no injuries. That blast happened on the that People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, ran an article touting the safety of paraxlyene and arguing that the public’s suspicions were leading to a critical shortfall of the substance, forcing China to be overly reliant on imports.
The 2007 Xiamen protests inspired a series of similar movements against petrochemical and heavy industrial plants in China. Residents in cities including Kunming, Ningbo, Dalian and Maoming have rallied against plans for industrial plants in their communities, particularly those producing paraxylene.
While the demonstrations in prosperous cities are more widely known, protests have also erupted in poorer interior areas, such as the 2012 against a copper plant in Shifang, Sichuan Province.
On Saturday, the police detained dozens of residents of Naiman Banner in Inner Mongolia after weeks of protests and violent clashes over fears of pollution from a chemical plant, according to reports from the , an advocacy group based in the United States, and , a broadcaster funded by the United States government.
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