amateur footage of this 2015 Chinese
disaster went viral within minutes and
raised questions about how such a
catastrophe could come to pass
welcome to watchmojo.com Stallman t’
we’re counting down ten crucial facts
you should know about the Tianjin
explosion number ten where did the
Tianjin explosion happen Tianjin is a
port city for during the Hebei province
and Beijing municipality in China its
urban population is the fourth largest
in the country behind cities like
Guangzhou Shanghai and Beijing itself
and it’s considered one of China’s most
rapidly advancing areas for industrial
and financial activity with about 285
fortune 500 companies set up in tea
anjing’s bean high region the August 12
2015 explosion took place in a building
owned by tea on jingdong Zhou port Rui
hai international logistics in an area
reportedly used to store dangerous and
chemical goods early suggestions said
that the two separate blasts occurred
following a series of chemical reactions
most likely exacerbated by the presence
of water on site number 9 what has been
the death toll the trouble began with an
earlier initial blaze on which it’s
believed firefighters were using water
hoses in an attempt to prevent further
damage however the chemical compound
calcium carbide is also believed to have
been stored at the location which reacts
dangerously with water and likely caused
the first explosion from there a second
ammonium nitrate detonation was
triggered the death toll continued to
rise following the incident but official
figures have the number of dead at 114
as of August 17 2015 with close to
another 100 people still missing large
amounts of the missing or deceased are
firefighters who had been attending to
the scene more than seven hundred and
twenty people were initially taken to
hospital with injuries with the numbers
rising by the day
number eight how did this affect the
city of Tianjin the first blast had a
power equivalent to three tons of TNT
detonating while the second explosion
was equivalent to 21 tons an evacuation
was issued within two miles of the site
damage from the blast was felt several
miles from its centre and the second
fireball was so big it was actually
visible to satellites orbiting Earth
apart from the human casualties and
injuries the blasts occurring within an
industrial epicentre have caused untold
devastation to local and international
businesses and factories in one instance
car manufacturer Renault saw around
1,500 of its cars irreparably torched in
an instant number seven were there lacks
safety standards early indications
suggested that the safety standards in
place were lower than they should have
been and that authorities had been aware
of chemical storage and adequacies
reports emerged that city officials had
met with Roy high logistics recently to
discuss tightening regulations an issue
especially with small and medium
businesses where procedures are outdated
major criticism focused on the fact that
a building housing chemicals as
potentially dangerous and hazardous as
these should not have been situated
within such close proximity to Main
Roads office blocks and housing
developments another concern related to
the apparent inability of Chinese
industrial workers to complain to
managers and superiors whenever a
problem or potential danger has been
identified number six has this happened
in other cities before for all of the
apparent inadequacies in China however
this is not the first time something
like this has happened and North America
itself has a troubling recent history on
July 6th 2013 a massive explosion
occurred in Quebec Canada after a
freight train carrying Bakken formation
crude oil ran out of control crashing
into the downtown area of Lac Megantic
42 people were confirmed dead with five
more missing and presumed dead and all
but three buildings in the town center
either destroyed on impact or
subsequently demolished due to
contamination it was the deadliest non
passenger train crash to ever occur in
Canada
number five has this happened in other
cities before part two on March 23rd
2005 another massive explosion occurred
in the petrochemical manufacturing
center of Texas City USA at the time of
the accident
bps Texas City refinery was the third
biggest of its type in the US however
the road towards the company’s eventual
2013 sale of the plant was laid when a
hydrocarbon vapor cloud combusted after
coming into contact with some form of
ignition source presumably a powered
vehicle engine the explosion killed
fifteen site workers and injured more
than 170 others various investigation
reports into the disaster
identified inadequate safety and
organizational standards number four
what has been the state’s reaction in
truth the Tianjin explosion proved to be
an exceptionally difficult news story to
follow mainly because of how hard it can
be to obtain official information from
China itself as of mid August 2015 the
international community remained unsure
of exactly how the explosions were
triggered and exactly which chemicals
might have been involved it was thought
that the after mentioned calcium carbide
was stored in Tianjin and it was also
believed that sodium cyanide was kept at
the port another deadly chemical when
humans are exposed to it however with so
few hard facts coming out of China it
was not only difficult to assess the
explosion itself but also to assess any
long-term problems for Tianjin and its
population there are suggestions as well
that the state itself was more closely
related to the mismanagement of Tianjin
port promoting accusations of
concealment from both inside and outside
of China number three what are the
safety standards in China historically
China doesn’t possess a healthy record
when it comes to standards of safety for
its people this is not the first time
there have been fatalities that might
have been avoided in 2011 over 75,000
people
died in China because of work-related
injuries while road accidents and a lack
of road safety account for around 70,000
deaths per year in the country in fact
in August 2014 just a little over one
year before the Tianjin disaster dozens
of people were killed and hundreds were
injured following an explosion at a
wheel polishing plant in Jiangsu
province then the Chinese state
administration of work safety cited very
serious dereliction of duty as a cause
but times do not seem to have changed
since then number two how will the port
and city recover in the immediate
aftermath of the explosion one of the
most pressing concerns was the quality
of air in Tianjin particularly as wind
speeds and directions changed an
evacuation zone was put in place around
the blast site and military chemical
specialists more deployed within it
Chinese officials assured that though
the air was toxic at the time it served
no threat to the population outside of
the evacuation area the public outcry
over the disaster however was
significant those residents living
closest to the port staged rare protests
as they sought compensation from the
government for their damaged homes as
well as for potential contamination to
the drinking water supply
residents argued that they could be
living on a time bomb which having
exploded once could do so again
number one will this have an impact on
China’s future the very fact that
protests were staged and received
significant press attention was
indicative of the magnitude and scale of
China’s situation following the
explosions the fear was that the change
in disaster would quickly fade into the
country’s history as just another deadly
explosion however the hope was that the
tragedy could be construed as a
watershed moment the shocking footage of
each blast was seen the world over and
was therefore perhaps less likely to be
forgotten with questions fired at the
Chinese government from Tianjin
residents themselves as well as from
outside of China answers and action were
necessary and unavoidable should a
similar disaster occur in the future
the
criticism will only come again but it
will come with even greater strength did
these facts get you thinking to vote for
which news story is covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week
disaster went viral within minutes and
raised questions about how such a
catastrophe could come to pass
welcome to watchmojo.com Stallman t’
we’re counting down ten crucial facts
you should know about the Tianjin
explosion number ten where did the
Tianjin explosion happen Tianjin is a
port city for during the Hebei province
and Beijing municipality in China its
urban population is the fourth largest
in the country behind cities like
Guangzhou Shanghai and Beijing itself
and it’s considered one of China’s most
rapidly advancing areas for industrial
and financial activity with about 285
fortune 500 companies set up in tea
anjing’s bean high region the August 12
2015 explosion took place in a building
owned by tea on jingdong Zhou port Rui
hai international logistics in an area
reportedly used to store dangerous and
chemical goods early suggestions said
that the two separate blasts occurred
following a series of chemical reactions
most likely exacerbated by the presence
of water on site number 9 what has been
the death toll the trouble began with an
earlier initial blaze on which it’s
believed firefighters were using water
hoses in an attempt to prevent further
damage however the chemical compound
calcium carbide is also believed to have
been stored at the location which reacts
dangerously with water and likely caused
the first explosion from there a second
ammonium nitrate detonation was
triggered the death toll continued to
rise following the incident but official
figures have the number of dead at 114
as of August 17 2015 with close to
another 100 people still missing large
amounts of the missing or deceased are
firefighters who had been attending to
the scene more than seven hundred and
twenty people were initially taken to
hospital with injuries with the numbers
rising by the day
number eight how did this affect the
city of Tianjin the first blast had a
power equivalent to three tons of TNT
detonating while the second explosion
was equivalent to 21 tons an evacuation
was issued within two miles of the site
damage from the blast was felt several
miles from its centre and the second
fireball was so big it was actually
visible to satellites orbiting Earth
apart from the human casualties and
injuries the blasts occurring within an
industrial epicentre have caused untold
devastation to local and international
businesses and factories in one instance
car manufacturer Renault saw around
1,500 of its cars irreparably torched in
an instant number seven were there lacks
safety standards early indications
suggested that the safety standards in
place were lower than they should have
been and that authorities had been aware
of chemical storage and adequacies
reports emerged that city officials had
met with Roy high logistics recently to
discuss tightening regulations an issue
especially with small and medium
businesses where procedures are outdated
major criticism focused on the fact that
a building housing chemicals as
potentially dangerous and hazardous as
these should not have been situated
within such close proximity to Main
Roads office blocks and housing
developments another concern related to
the apparent inability of Chinese
industrial workers to complain to
managers and superiors whenever a
problem or potential danger has been
identified number six has this happened
in other cities before for all of the
apparent inadequacies in China however
this is not the first time something
like this has happened and North America
itself has a troubling recent history on
July 6th 2013 a massive explosion
occurred in Quebec Canada after a
freight train carrying Bakken formation
crude oil ran out of control crashing
into the downtown area of Lac Megantic
42 people were confirmed dead with five
more missing and presumed dead and all
but three buildings in the town center
either destroyed on impact or
subsequently demolished due to
contamination it was the deadliest non
passenger train crash to ever occur in
Canada
number five has this happened in other
cities before part two on March 23rd
2005 another massive explosion occurred
in the petrochemical manufacturing
center of Texas City USA at the time of
the accident
bps Texas City refinery was the third
biggest of its type in the US however
the road towards the company’s eventual
2013 sale of the plant was laid when a
hydrocarbon vapor cloud combusted after
coming into contact with some form of
ignition source presumably a powered
vehicle engine the explosion killed
fifteen site workers and injured more
than 170 others various investigation
reports into the disaster
identified inadequate safety and
organizational standards number four
what has been the state’s reaction in
truth the Tianjin explosion proved to be
an exceptionally difficult news story to
follow mainly because of how hard it can
be to obtain official information from
China itself as of mid August 2015 the
international community remained unsure
of exactly how the explosions were
triggered and exactly which chemicals
might have been involved it was thought
that the after mentioned calcium carbide
was stored in Tianjin and it was also
believed that sodium cyanide was kept at
the port another deadly chemical when
humans are exposed to it however with so
few hard facts coming out of China it
was not only difficult to assess the
explosion itself but also to assess any
long-term problems for Tianjin and its
population there are suggestions as well
that the state itself was more closely
related to the mismanagement of Tianjin
port promoting accusations of
concealment from both inside and outside
of China number three what are the
safety standards in China historically
China doesn’t possess a healthy record
when it comes to standards of safety for
its people this is not the first time
there have been fatalities that might
have been avoided in 2011 over 75,000
people
died in China because of work-related
injuries while road accidents and a lack
of road safety account for around 70,000
deaths per year in the country in fact
in August 2014 just a little over one
year before the Tianjin disaster dozens
of people were killed and hundreds were
injured following an explosion at a
wheel polishing plant in Jiangsu
province then the Chinese state
administration of work safety cited very
serious dereliction of duty as a cause
but times do not seem to have changed
since then number two how will the port
and city recover in the immediate
aftermath of the explosion one of the
most pressing concerns was the quality
of air in Tianjin particularly as wind
speeds and directions changed an
evacuation zone was put in place around
the blast site and military chemical
specialists more deployed within it
Chinese officials assured that though
the air was toxic at the time it served
no threat to the population outside of
the evacuation area the public outcry
over the disaster however was
significant those residents living
closest to the port staged rare protests
as they sought compensation from the
government for their damaged homes as
well as for potential contamination to
the drinking water supply
residents argued that they could be
living on a time bomb which having
exploded once could do so again
number one will this have an impact on
China’s future the very fact that
protests were staged and received
significant press attention was
indicative of the magnitude and scale of
China’s situation following the
explosions the fear was that the change
in disaster would quickly fade into the
country’s history as just another deadly
explosion however the hope was that the
tragedy could be construed as a
watershed moment the shocking footage of
each blast was seen the world over and
was therefore perhaps less likely to be
forgotten with questions fired at the
Chinese government from Tianjin
residents themselves as well as from
outside of China answers and action were
necessary and unavoidable should a
similar disaster occur in the future
the
criticism will only come again but it
will come with even greater strength did
these facts get you thinking to vote for
which news story is covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week
Please follow and like us: