Hundreds battle blaze at refinery
Source: Agencies |
August 30, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FIREFIGHTERS yesterday battled for three hours to put out a blaze at a petrochemical refinery in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, the second fire there in two months.
State-owned PetroChina, the country's biggest oil and gas producer, said the fire was in a diesel tank containing 800 tons of fuel at its subsidiary Dalian Petrochemical.
Nearly 300 firefighters and 65 fire vehicles attended the blaze, which police said followed an explosion in a pipeline linking two fuel tanks.
After the fire a number of firefighters remained at the scene to prevent further outbreaks because of the risk of explosion in nearby tanks of aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and other materials.
Last month a fire at the refinery forced the company to suspend operation of some of its units.
Dalian was also the scene of China's biggest oil spill, when a pipeline explosion released at least 1,500 tons of oil into the sea in July last year.
About 12,000 people recently demonstrated in the city to demand the removal of a chemical factory. The authorities agreed to move the plant out of the downtown area.
The protest was mounted after waves from Tropical Storm Muifa broke through flood defenses at the plant and raised fears toxic chemicals could be released.
Recent oil spills in Bohai Bay, offshore from Dalian, have further raised concern over environmental risks from the region's energy and chemicals industries, with government officials threatening legal action against ConocoPhillips China, which operates wells in the affected oilfield with state energy company CNOOC.
CNOOC's refinery at Daya Bay, in Huizhou, halted several of its production lines after a fire broke out in its aromatics unit last month.
PetroChina's statements, posted on its website, claimed yesterday's fire did not result in any pollution.
Dalian, a modern port city of more than 6 million, has experienced growing friction between planners counting on big industries to help fuel growth and residents desiring a healthy environment.
Centrally-sited factories are increasingly disliked - many cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have moved steel mills, shipyards and refineries to city peripheries.
State-owned PetroChina, the country's biggest oil and gas producer, said the fire was in a diesel tank containing 800 tons of fuel at its subsidiary Dalian Petrochemical.
Nearly 300 firefighters and 65 fire vehicles attended the blaze, which police said followed an explosion in a pipeline linking two fuel tanks.
After the fire a number of firefighters remained at the scene to prevent further outbreaks because of the risk of explosion in nearby tanks of aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and other materials.
Last month a fire at the refinery forced the company to suspend operation of some of its units.
Dalian was also the scene of China's biggest oil spill, when a pipeline explosion released at least 1,500 tons of oil into the sea in July last year.
About 12,000 people recently demonstrated in the city to demand the removal of a chemical factory. The authorities agreed to move the plant out of the downtown area.
The protest was mounted after waves from Tropical Storm Muifa broke through flood defenses at the plant and raised fears toxic chemicals could be released.
Recent oil spills in Bohai Bay, offshore from Dalian, have further raised concern over environmental risks from the region's energy and chemicals industries, with government officials threatening legal action against ConocoPhillips China, which operates wells in the affected oilfield with state energy company CNOOC.
CNOOC's refinery at Daya Bay, in Huizhou, halted several of its production lines after a fire broke out in its aromatics unit last month.
PetroChina's statements, posted on its website, claimed yesterday's fire did not result in any pollution.
Dalian, a modern port city of more than 6 million, has experienced growing friction between planners counting on big industries to help fuel growth and residents desiring a healthy environment.
Centrally-sited factories are increasingly disliked - many cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have moved steel mills, shipyards and refineries to city peripheries.
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