(Corrects name of meteorological organisation sent to the
scene, removes erroneous reference to IAEA, paragraph 15)
* At least 12 firefighters among 54 killed
* Warehouse stored toxic chemicals and gas
* Official defends initial actions of fire fighters
* Experts say initial use of water could have made situation
worse
* Many foreign firms sustain largely minor damage to
facilities
By Adam Rose and Megha Rajagopalan
TIANJIN, China, Aug 14 (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official
defended fire fighters who initially hosed water on a blaze in a
warehouse in northeast China where volatile chemicals were
stored, a response foreign experts said could have contributed
to two huge blasts that killed 54 people.
More than a dozen firefighters were among those killed by
the massive explosions at the busy port in Tianjin city on
Wednesday night, state media said. About 700 people were
injured, 71 seriously.
Columns of smoke from fires still burning on Friday rose
from the blast site amid the devastation of crumpled shipping
containers, thousands of torched cars and port buildings reduced
to burnt-out shells. Rescuers pulled one survivor, from the
wreckage, a city official told reporters. State television later
said it was a firefighter. ID:nL3N10O31F
The warehouse, designed to house dangerous and toxic
chemicals, was storing mainly ammonium nitrate, potassium
nitrate and calcium carbide at the time of the blasts, according
to police. The official Xinhua news agency has said several
containers in the warehouse caught fire before the explosions.
Chemical safety experts said calcium carbide reacts with
water to create acetylene, a highly explosive gas. An explosion
could be caused if fire fighters sprayed the calcium carbide
with water, they said.
Lei Jinde, the deputy propaganda department head of China's
fire department, a part of the Ministry of Public Security, told
state-backed news website ThePaper.cn that the first group of
fire fighters on the scene had used water.
"We knew there was calcium carbide inside but we didn't know
whether it had already exploded," he said.
"At that point no one knew, it wasn't that the fire fighters
were stupid," Lei said, adding that it was a large warehouse and
they didn't know the exact location of the calcium carbide.
CCTV reported that another four firefighters were confirmed
dead and 13 were still missing. Xinhua said earlier that 66
firefighters were among the hundreds of people hospitalised.
David Leggett, a chemical safety expert based in California,
told Reuters the acetylene explosion could have detonated the
ammonium nitrate. The two blasts were about 30 seconds apart,
the second much larger than the first.
"In my mind, the presence of ammonium nitrate makes it
easier to explain the level of devastation," he said.
Stuart Prescott, a senior lecturer in chemical engineering
at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said water
was recommended to extinguish the two nitrates but a chemical
powder was needed for calcium carbide.
"Calcium carbide reacts with the water and that's a
reasonably violent reaction in and of itself, because it
releases gas. The gas itself is also flammable," he said.
ASSESSING DAMAGE
The explosions at the port, the world's 10th largest, were
so big they were seen by satellites in space and registered on
earthquake sensors.
A team from the Beijing Regional Specialized Meteorological
Centre (RSMC) under the China Meteorological Administration, as
well as 214 Chinese military nuclear and biochemical materials
specialists, had gone to Tianjin, Xinhua said.
Several thousand residents were moved to 10 nearby schools
after apartment buildings and homes were damaged, mainly by
shockwaves from the explosions, it said.
Foreign companies from across the globe were trying to
determine the damage to their facilities in and around the port,
a gateway to northeast China.
French carmaker Renault RENA.PA said its warehouse at the
port sustained severe damage and nearly 1,500 of its cars stored
there were burned, according to early estimates.
Several Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp
7203.T reported minor damage to cars and facilities.
ID:nL3N10P1GT
Mining giant BHP Billiton (LONDON:BLT) BHP.AX said its port operations
and shipments were disrupted but its iron ore discharging berth
had not been damaged. ID:nL3N10O2WY
Oil tanker arrivals and departures were also disrupted.
John Deere & Co DE.N , the U.S. farm and construction
equipment maker, said several workers who were at home at the
time were injured, some critically.
PACKAGING "SUB-STANDARD"
Xinhua identified the owner of the warehouse as Tianjin
Dongjiang Port Ruihai International Logistics. The state-backed
China Daily newspaper said its manager had been detained.
The Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration said the company
violated packaging standards during a safety inspection two
years ago. ID:nL5N10O19I
Of 4,325 containers that were checked, five failed the
inspection because packaging was sub-standard, according to a
report posted on the administration's website in January 2014.
The company's website said it was a government-approved firm
specialising in handling "dangerous goods". Phone numbers listed
on its website were disconnected and an email to the company
went unanswered.
President Xi Jinping said those responsible should be
"severely handled".
Industrial accidents are not uncommon in China following
three decades of breakneck economic growth. A blast at an auto
parts factory in eastern China killed 75 people a year ago when
a room filled with metal dust exploded. ID:nL4N0QA0QQ
Wednesday's blasts sent shockwaves through apartment blocks
kilometres away in the port city of 15 million people. Internet
videos showed fireballs shooting into the sky.
The blasts shattered windows in buildings and cars and
knocked down walls in a 2-km radius around the site.
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Map of explosion site: http://link.reuters.com/nag45w
China factory blasts since January 2014
http://link.reuters.com/fag45w
Death toll from China workplace accidents (2005-2014)
http://link.reuters.com/mag45w
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