China Chemical Plant Explosion: Authorities take actions to contain chemical pollution

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02:33

A second press conference has been held after a deadly chemical plant explosion happened in the Xiangshui County of Eastern China's Jiangsu Province. As of 7 a.m. today, the accident has left 64 people dead and more than 90 severely injured. As rescue work continues, authorities have been closely monitoring the environmental situation in the area. CGTN's Xu Mengqi has more.

Forty-eight hours after one of China's worst industrial accidents.

Concerns of air pollution near the explosion site are now being addressed.

XU LIANG, DIRECTOR OF MONITORING JIANGSU ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING CENTER "We have set up four to five stations to constantly monitor the air quality in the affected areas both upwind and downwind of the blast site. We have sampled pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and some volatile organic compounds. So far, the air quality is within a normal range."

A team of 130 experts has been monitoring the air quality nearby the chemical plant for 24 hours a day. Their job is to alert the command center as soon as they spot anything unusual.

At the core of the affected area, special armed forces personnel have taken air, soil, and water samples from the site to fully examine them for contaminants.

XU MENGQI XIANGSHUI, JIANGSU "I'm now about 500 m away from the blast site, and without this gas mask, I would be smelling sth pungent in the air. There is no doubt that chemical pollution in the core affected area is much worse and authorities say they have already built dams to stop the polluted water inside the industrial park from leaking into the local river."

CAO LUBAO, MAYOR YANCHENG CITY, JIANGSU "Under the guidance of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and various experts, we have started an investigation into coping mechanisms for contaminated water and chemical residue at the site, so as to prevent another environmental disaster."

On the outskirts of the industrial park, residents have already started returning to their destroyed homes. But for some, fear still lingers.

"As long as the chemical plants are here, we won't feel safe," says this villager, adding they had already once escaped from a chemical leak 10 years ago.

XMQ, CGTN, Xiangshui, Jiangsu Province.