Qingdao blast reveals poor response, safety

A lack of inspection over potential major hazards and poor emergency response were exposed in the wake of the deadly Qingdao oil pipeline blasts, China's top work safety watchdog said on Thursday.

Explosions ripped through residential and commercial roads in the Huangdao district of Qingdao in Shandong province on November 22, 2013, leaving 62 dead, 136 injured and a direct economic loss of 750 million yuan ($122.7 million).

The accident showed negligence of duty from both the pipeline operator Sinopec and the local government, Huang Yi, spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), said at a press conference.

Pipeline corrosion was the major cause of the incident. Meanwhile, workers used a hydraulic hammer that was not explosion-proof on a sewage cover plate on the day of the accident, producing sparks that later triggered the blasts, Huang said.

Explosions broke out after more than eight hours after the oil leakage, however, "the company and the government made a false judgment about the risks, and didn't impose traffic control and evacuate the residents in time," Huang said.

He stated that the accident has been identified as a "responsibility incident," and the investigation report has been sent to the State Council for review.

Seven Sinopec employees and two Qingdao city workers have been detained in connection with the explosion.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered a large-scale production safety check and warned various industries to learn lessons after the tragedy.

After the incident took place, the government launched an overhaul of nearly 3,000 oil storage facilities and petrochemical companies across the country. It has revealed nearly 20,000 potential hazards, which are currently being rectified, said Wang Haoshui, a SAWS inspector in charge of petrochemical work safety.

The number of underground pipelines for drainage, electricity, telecommunications, natural gas and heating has increased rapidly along with urbanization and economic development in the past decades. The accident has aroused discussion over China's discordant urbanization process and aging pipeline infrastructure.

Government statistics show that China has 102,000 kilometers of domestic oil and gas pipelines, with some of the oldest ones having been in use for 40 years.

These old rusty pipelines are intertwined with city pipeline networks and pose serious risks to public safety, reported the Xinhua News Agency.

"The disorderly municipal design at the work site brewed the security risks," Huang said, adding that the pipelines were installed too close to nearby buildings.

The oil pipeline overlapped with the public sewage network in parts, and related government departments should be held accountable, Huang added.

China will revise the work safety evaluation rules to increase the punishment for State-owned enterprises involved in major work safety accidents, Xinhua reported earlier.