Jilin Chemical Plant Explosions

• As a result of the petrochemical plant explosions, 100 tons of benzene in addition to smaller concentrations of nitrobenzene and aniline were discharged into the nearby Songhua River.
• Benzene is a chemical compound formed by the elements hydrogen and carbon. Human exposure to this toxic substance can result in various acute or chronic health effects, including mouth ulcers, blood disorders, liver damage and lukemia.
• The Sonhua river flows from the northeastern province of Jilin through the Heilongjiang Province and then surges into the Amur River in eastern Russia.
• Therefore, the 80 kilometre-long toxic slick of benzene made its way through the Heilongjiang Province into the Amur River, posing a serious threat to the water quality.
• In addition to the vast quantity of pollants released into the Songhua River, the explosions resulted in poor air quality, soil contamination and groundwater pollution.
• Environmental groups suggested that the benzene spill could cause several long-term problems. Some potentional issues included harm to the food chain, the bioaccumulation of benzene in various organisms and the entrapment of benzene in the river sediments, caused the benzene being caught in the river ice and being rereleased when it melts.
• Fortunately, benzene becomes harmless after burning, it tranforms into water and carbon dioxide. Thus, no leftover toxic gas was detected in the air of the explosion site.

• In addition to killing 7 and injuring dozens, the explosions of the two towers at the chemical plant forced the evacuation of approximately 10 000 people who were residing nearby in residential areas and schools.
• Harbin, a city of nine-million people who rely on the Songhua River for water, was compelled to close down their municipal water services for a period of four days, due to the release of benzene.
• With unacceptable delay, authorities in Harbin warned the civilians about the symptons of benzene poisoning. Schools were closed and hospitals were put on standby.
• The water supply cut-off sparked a frenzy among civilians, the shelves of bottled water and other beverages in the supermarkets emptied rapidly.
• Ten days following the chemical plant explosions, the State Environmental Protection Agency finally asserted that the Songhua River contained benzene levels that were 100 times greater than the safe limit. The delay in the warning meant that hundreds of thousands of people inhabiting the towns and villages along the river between Jilin and Harbin may have come into contact with benzene by drinking or using the water.
• In the cold November conditions of Harbin, citizens waited in line for hours to fill their kettles and flasks with water being carried by the street cleaning trucks.
• In addition, millions of other people, including those living in Russia's far east had polluted water heading their way.

• The Jilin Chemical Plant Explosions and the Songhua River Pollution Incident have earned their noteriety due to the central and regional governments' slow response to the incidents.
• Initially, officials remained silent about the deadly explosions and the pollutants entering the Songhua; they claimed that water supplies were being temporarily shut down in Harbin so routine maintenance could be performed.
• On television, state-controlled media attempted to illustrate a placid situation by displaying footage of workers setting up new water filters at Harbin's water plant.
• However, rumours formed that the government had suspended access to the main water supply because a catastrophe was impending. Subsequently, people bought food and bottled water in a panic, those who feared an imminent earthquake slept outside in frigid temperatures and thousands fled the city on trains and airplanes.
• As an attempt to subdue the panic, government officials and the China National Petroleum Corporation revealed that the explosions at the Jilin chemical plant had affected the Songhua River and falsely claimed that the water quality was "normal" and the chemicals were "harmless".
• To address the water crisis, the government drilled 100 wells and reopened 400 closed ones to provide safe water for the civilians. Bottled water was trucked into the city, however, it was not provided for free. The main source of water for the working middle class were the street cleaning trucks which had been converted into water carriers.
• In Russia, the benzene slick was expected to arrive in the Khabarovsky region via the Amur River on December 8th, 2005. The region was ready to declare a state of emergency if contamination was detected; authorities were testing the water quality every 6 hours and 60 truckloads of bottled water had been delivered to the region.
• Due to the governments' inadequate responses to the incidents, establishing Environmental Protection Bureaus (whose job is to enforce environmental protection) became a top priority. Also, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank initiated projects to establish extra Regional Supervision Centers (who report to State Environmental Protection Agencies rather than local governments).

Environmental Impact

The Cause

• The explosions were caused by a blockage in a nitration column in the benzene production branch of the plant.
• The nitration column was combining benzene and nitric acid at an extremely high temperature.
• Precisely, the accident was caused by the failure of a safety valve to release the heat, however, this was considered a "management error" of an employee as opposed to the fault of the equipment.
• The first explosion at 1:40pm was so powerful that it shattered windows 100 to 200 meters away.
• Officals claimed that pollutants were not relased into the atmsophere and the smoke was just water and carbon dioxide.

Basic Information

Impact on People

References

• The Jilin Chemical Plant explosions happened in the Jilin Province of China. On November 13, 2005 there were explosions at the Jilin petrochemical plant, a plant operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation.
• 7 people were killed, 1 went missing and 70 people were injured.
• The explosions affected a circular area of 200 meters in diameter.
• The public initially thought that the explosions were caused by a terrorist group.

• https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/positive-spillover-impact-the-songhua-river-benzene-incident-china-s-environmental
• http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/nov/25/china.internationalnews
• http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0769091.html
• http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/15/content_494601.htm
• http://www.who.int/ipcs/features/benzene.pdf
• https://ejatlas.org/conflict/the-jilin-chemical-plant-explosions-songhua-river-pollution-incident
• https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2005/12/harb-d01.html

Managing the Disaster

Consequences and Redress

• The CNPC disclosed a statement to acknowledge their guilt, blaming the Jilin plant explosions on the negligence of the workers.
• The Chinese government also bears some responsibility for the water crisis. To attract foreign investment, they have introduced pro-market policies, ceased to regulate industrial production and have enforced the exploitation of workers. These implementations have led to little emphasis on safety and environmental standards.
• When a company contributes to an economic loss, under China's pro-business regulations, they must pay a compensation payment that equals 20 to 30 percent of the loss. The CNPC was required to pay one million yuan ($125 000).
• Additionally, the premier of China's State Council, Wen Jiabao, formally apologized to Russia, promising to punish those responsible and vice-governor of Jilin province apologized to the people of Harbin and donated 71 tonnes of mineral water.

The Jilin Chemical Plant Explosions

By Anna and Sophia