Six injured in Chinese chemical plant explosions

Six people were hospitalised and hundreds of emergency workers were deployed to deal with a series of explosions at a controversial chemical plant in southern China, the second time in 20 months that there had been blasts at the plant in Zhangzhou in Fujian province.

The army was called in to deal with the explosion at the Dragon Aromatics facility, which produces paraxylene (PX), an industrial chemical used for making commonly used fibre and plastic bottles, reviving concerns about the safety of industrial projects.

The Taiwanese-owned plant has been dogged by controversy. In 2007, construction of the PX plant in Xiamen was halted after middle class residents took to the streets to protest, forcing the government to move it to the nearby city of Zhangzhou, which has a smaller population.

Dissatisfaction

The demonstration in Xiamen was one of the first high-profile displays of dissatisfaction about environmental devastation. The fire department sent 177 fire engines and 829 firefighters to fight the flames, while environmental protection authorities dispatched more than 50 personnel to monitor the environment, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Residents of the area have been evacuated, waste water has been collected and no excessive pollutants have been detected in three nearby villages, the agency reported. The fire started after a xylene facility leaked oil and caught fire, causing explosions and a fire at three oil storage tanks. The blast was powerful enough to break windows at a petrol station a kilometre away, and photographs show scenes of devastation at the site. The tremor from the explosion was felt 50 kilometres away.

Pollution

Some of the most public displays of dissent in China have been demonstrations against proposed chemical plants in residential areas of cities. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the southern Chinese city of Kunming in 2013 to voice their fears over the environmental impact of a planned petrochemical plant. Pollution is a leading cause of unrest in China as the country’s rapid economic rise is accompanied by often appalling environmental problems.

The air in most cities is often barely breathable, most of China’s rivers are poisoned, and this is the single biggest source of complaint among young people. Often environmental protests are carried out not by angry farmers, but by middle class Chinese worried about the environmental danger to their families.

This is a key demographic for the Communist Party, which needs middle class support to ensure it retains its grip on power. The party has acknowledged that public anger over environmental disasters represents a threat to stability. There have been several examples in recent years of limited action by middle class protesters forcing a climbdown by local authorities.