China: Nanjing blast kills 13, forces nearby film extruder to close

Chemical News: China: Nanjing blast kills 13, forces nearby film extruder to close

https://www.chemnet.com Aug 03,2010
As the death toll rose to 13 in the powerful explosion July 28 at an empty plastics factory in Nanjing, the widespread and massive damage forced at least one plastics company to cease production.

Film extruder Nanjing Jinzhongda New Material Co. Ltd. said 46 of its employees were injured, with two in critical condition.

"Factory building, equipment and offices all suffered varying degrees of damage. We will not be able to resume normal production in the near future, and the amount of financial loss is to be assessed," Jinzhongda’s parent company said in a July 29 announcement.

The explosion took place on the former campus of Nanjing Fourth Plastics Factory, which was to be demolished and redeveloped.Nanjing authorities have detained four people they suspect are responsible for the incident. “Because of illegal subcontracting, the project didn’t meet the safety standards and had no supervision,” an official from the State Administration of Work Safety said at a news conference.

A report from China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said the blast was caused by a gas leak when workers damaged a propylene pipeline as they used excavators to retrieve items that could be sold, such as copper pipes.

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