Eco Watch
Lorraine Chow
August 17, 2015
In the wake of the deadly explosion that ripped through Tianjin, China that has claimed at least 114 lives and left 70 more still missing since last Wednesday, attention is now being turned to what might have triggered the disaster as well as the toxic chemical brew released into the environment.
An aerial view of the crater in Tianjin, China. Photo credit: EPA
While the exact cause is currently unclear, we know that the blast occurred at a warehouse owned by Rui Hai International Logistics, a private company licensed to handle potentially hazardous cargo, The New York Times reported.
Officials from the Tianjin Tanggu Environmental Monitoring Station reported that the company stored a number of toxic industrial chemicals—sodium cyanide, toluene diisocyanate and calcium carbide—and was licensed to handle highly combustible substances such as compressed and liquefied natural gas, the Times wrote.
A closer look of an aerial view of the crater in Tianjin, China. Photo credit: EPA
Deborah Read, an associate professor at Massey University’s Center for Public Health Research in New Zealand, described to the The National Business Review the dangerous nature of these three chemicals on human health.
“Sodium cyanide releases hydrogen cyanide gas on contact with acids or water. Hydrogen cyanide interferes with the body’s ability to use oxygen particularly affecting the brain, heart and lungs and can rapidly lead to death,” she said.
As for the other chemicals that were reportedly present in the warehouse, Read continued that “toluene diisocyanate irritates eyes and airways and can cause asthma and fluid in the lungs (pulmonary oedema).”
“Contact of calcium carbide with water can result in fire and explosion. Calcium carbide is corrosive to skin, eyes and airways and can cause fluid in the lungs (pulmonary oedema),” she said.
