China must deliver on its promises to ensure safety of its huge chemical industry after several deadly blasts on its facilities in recent years, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and toxics, Baskut Tuncak, said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2019) China must deliver on its promises to ensure safety of its huge chemical industry after several deadly blasts on its facilities in recent years, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and toxics, Baskut Tuncak, said on Friday."China's repeated promises on chemical safety must be followed by meaningful action and lasting measures if it is to meet its human rights obligations. ... The victims of these repeated chemical disasters deserve action. Chemical disasters are preventable," Tuncak said in a statement.
China must ensure necessary measures to protect people from the impact of its chemical industry, he added.
A powerful blast hit the chemical plant in the city of Yancheng on March 21, with shock waves shattering doors and windows in neighboring residential buildings and leaving an enormous hole on the ground at the site of the explosion. According to the official data, 78 people were killed and 566 others injured in the incident.
This was not the first time China had suffered a severe plant explosion. In November, at least 22 people died and 22 more were injured following a blast near a chemical plant in the northern city of Zhangjiakou. In 2015, about 170 people were killed in a series of explosions at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin.
On Thursday, Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management announced plans to carry out manufacturing safety inspections in chemical, coal, mining and firefighting areas.
