Rain fell on the Chinese port of Tianjin Tuesday morning for the first time since massive blasts last week, amid fears that toxic chemicals could spread to nearby residential areas.
The commemorations began at 9am on Tuesday at several sites in the city, including a park in the Binhai district, at the Teda Hospital where numerous injured are receiving treatment, and at a temporary shelter based at a school.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said on Sunday it had tested surface water for cyanide at four locations in the wider city and had not detected high levels of the chemical. Many were wearing masks, and some had bandages, possibly over cuts. The streets appeared calm.
Officials are telling residents not to worry.
A man surnamed Zhang, whose apartment was about 600 metres from the warehouse and was destroyed, said government regulators bore responsibility. One of the chemicals at the site, sodium cyanide forms toxic gas in the presence of water.
Authorities have faced criticism over failing to uphold regulations surrounding the site’s operation, notably requirements that warehouses stocking unsafe materials be at least one kilometer from surrounding public buildings and main roads.
The unknown, she says, has the residents on edge. A migrant worker named Tian Binyan said as follows. “It definitely doesn’t feel good. We are just waiting to see my brother’s body now”.
On Saturday, the China Daily reported that specialized anti-chemical soldiers had entered the core area to search for those still missing.
The company was also added to a list of “abnormally operating” firms by the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Market and Quality Regulatory Commission in July for not following guidelines in reporting its 2013 and 2014 annual results, according to the company’s records on the SAIC.
Xinhua said there had been another small explosion on Monday.
The explosion has devastated the city, which is home to more than 15 million people and is located 75 miles away from Beijing.
About a dozen family members of missing fire fighters tried to storm a press conference, angry at a lack of information.
“We will keep searching as long as we are ordered to do so”, Wang said.
Media have said such firefighters in China, often only on two-year contracts, lack training as new recruits. “Not even one”, Wang said.
Local officials have yet to comment on the possible cause of the explosion and the fire that preceded it. However, the Global Times newspaper, citing chemical industry experts speaking on condition of anonymity, said the blast was probably triggered by a flammable substance such as industrial alcohol stored on the site.
Questions are being raised about whether the crews had been properly trained and equipped to deal with the emergency at a warehouse that stored a volatile mix of chemicals, including compounds that become combustible on contact with water.