China’s work safety watchdog is blaming this month’s explosion at a chemical plant in southeast China on the factory’s management and failings in local government supervision.
The April 6 blast and ensuing hydrocarbon fire at the paraxylene plant in Fujian province left six people hospitalized and renewed discussion on China’s social media about the potential dangers of factories that produce the toxic chemical.
Huang Yi, spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety, told reporters Wednesday that the bosses of the Goure PX Plant chose the cheapest bidder to build the facility at the expense of safety.
He said a furnace was too close to storage tanks, so when unspecified materials leaked into the furnace because of a broken tube, the blast tore into a tank and caused the fire.
Source: Associated Press (AP)
