Operations of chemical plants need strict safety supervision

A big fire is seen at a chemical plant in the Gulei Peninsula in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, on April 8, where an explosion on Monday evening injured six people. The fire resurfaced hours after it was extinguished late Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

A paraxylene plant in Zhangzhou, Fujian province in East China, suffered an explosion on Monday, and the tremors could be felt about 50 kilometers away, while the fire was not extinguished until the next day. PX plants have aroused fierce opposition in recent years because residents fear they might be a safety risk. Comments:

The government has invested heavily in telling the public paraxylene is safe and not so poisonous as they think, while officials in Zhangzhou promised, after a blast two years ago, that it would never happen again. Please, officials who get paid from taxpayers' money, do your jobs and ensure the safety of paraxylene projects, so that the public can trust your promises.

Beijing News, April 8

Whenever there are conflicts between paraxylene plant owners and the public because of people's safety concerns, local governments would unconditionally support the plant owners and suppress the concerns of the public, because the plants boost the local GDP; sometimes they even relax their environmental supervision to encourage the building of paraxylene plants. It is time for local governments to coordinate between residents and enterprises, instead of speaking for the latter only.

People's Daily, via WeChat, April 8

After years of public discussions, some common sense about paraxylene has been established, namely that PX products have low toxicity and are of key importance to national development. However, the blast has destroyed that common sense and exposed the lack of safety measures, which will only reignite distrust of chemical projects. The authorities should intervene and punish those responsible for the blast, so as to regain some of that lost trust.

Beijing Times, April 8

The paraxylene plant in Zhangzhou did not invest enough in safety measures even at the building stage. Some safety experts found and reported the lack of safety measures but their reports got no response from the higher authorities. Actually, had there been proper safety control in place, it would have been almost impossible for a blast to occur.

caijing.com, quoting an anonymous official in charge of health, safety and environment at a State-owned oil enterprise, April 8