Dead fish are seen on the banks of Haihe river at Binhai new district in Tianjin, China, August 20, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)
Aug 21, 2015
New fires erupted Friday near the site of last week's deadly Tianjin warehouse blasts--a disaster, according to one human rights expert, that further shows need for transparency regarding hazardous substances.
Firefighters were working to contain the fires, three of which occurred near the blast site, state-run Xinhua News Agency reports. The fourth broke out at a parking lot near the blast area.
The report of the new fires comes a day after the Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau said that levels of a toxic chemical in waters near the site were far above safe levels.
"An excessive level of cyanide was detected in eight locations with the highest reaching 356 times" the permitted level, the bureau said.
Seven hundreds tons of sodium cyanide had been stored at the warehouse, among other hazardous chemicals.
Also this week, thousands of dead fish washed up on the shores of the Haihe River, near the site of the explosions.
Deng Xiaowen, director of the Tianjin Environmental Monitoring Center, attributed the large number of dead fish to hypoxia as a result of high temperatures.
But that's not an explanation quelling the fears of some locals. From the New York Times:
"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?"
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes, Baskut Tuncak, stated Wednesday, "This chemical disaster serves as yet another tragic example of the need of information about hazardous substances to protect, respect and realize human rights."
Underscoring the need for transparency, he said, "The lack of information when needed--information that could have mitigated or perhaps even prevented this disaster--is truly tragic.
"Moreover, the reported restrictions on public access to health and safety information and freedom of the press in the aftermath are deeply disturbing, particularly to the extent it risks increasing the number of victims of this disaster," he continued.
Xinhua reports that the death toll from the Aug. 12 blasts stands at over 100, with hundreds more hospitalized and scores still missing.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
New fires erupted Friday near the site of last week's deadly Tianjin warehouse blasts--a disaster, according to one human rights expert, that further shows need for transparency regarding hazardous substances.
Firefighters were working to contain the fires, three of which occurred near the blast site, state-run Xinhua News Agency reports. The fourth broke out at a parking lot near the blast area.
The report of the new fires comes a day after the Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau said that levels of a toxic chemical in waters near the site were far above safe levels.
"An excessive level of cyanide was detected in eight locations with the highest reaching 356 times" the permitted level, the bureau said.
Seven hundreds tons of sodium cyanide had been stored at the warehouse, among other hazardous chemicals.
Also this week, thousands of dead fish washed up on the shores of the Haihe River, near the site of the explosions.
Deng Xiaowen, director of the Tianjin Environmental Monitoring Center, attributed the large number of dead fish to hypoxia as a result of high temperatures.
But that's not an explanation quelling the fears of some locals. From the New York Times:
"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?"
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes, Baskut Tuncak, stated Wednesday, "This chemical disaster serves as yet another tragic example of the need of information about hazardous substances to protect, respect and realize human rights."
Underscoring the need for transparency, he said, "The lack of information when needed--information that could have mitigated or perhaps even prevented this disaster--is truly tragic.
"Moreover, the reported restrictions on public access to health and safety information and freedom of the press in the aftermath are deeply disturbing, particularly to the extent it risks increasing the number of victims of this disaster," he continued.
Xinhua reports that the death toll from the Aug. 12 blasts stands at over 100, with hundreds more hospitalized and scores still missing.
New fires erupted Friday near the site of last week's deadly Tianjin warehouse blasts--a disaster, according to one human rights expert, that further shows need for transparency regarding hazardous substances.
Firefighters were working to contain the fires, three of which occurred near the blast site, state-run Xinhua News Agency reports. The fourth broke out at a parking lot near the blast area.
The report of the new fires comes a day after the Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau said that levels of a toxic chemical in waters near the site were far above safe levels.
"An excessive level of cyanide was detected in eight locations with the highest reaching 356 times" the permitted level, the bureau said.
Seven hundreds tons of sodium cyanide had been stored at the warehouse, among other hazardous chemicals.
Also this week, thousands of dead fish washed up on the shores of the Haihe River, near the site of the explosions.
Deng Xiaowen, director of the Tianjin Environmental Monitoring Center, attributed the large number of dead fish to hypoxia as a result of high temperatures.
But that's not an explanation quelling the fears of some locals. From the New York Times:
"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?"
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes, Baskut Tuncak, stated Wednesday, "This chemical disaster serves as yet another tragic example of the need of information about hazardous substances to protect, respect and realize human rights."
Underscoring the need for transparency, he said, "The lack of information when needed--information that could have mitigated or perhaps even prevented this disaster--is truly tragic.
"Moreover, the reported restrictions on public access to health and safety information and freedom of the press in the aftermath are deeply disturbing, particularly to the extent it risks increasing the number of victims of this disaster," he continued.
Xinhua reports that the death toll from the Aug. 12 blasts stands at over 100, with hundreds more hospitalized and scores still missing.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.