Facility 'too close' to homes

Damaged cars are seen in the blast zone in Tianjin on Friday. ZHU XINGXIN/CHINA DAILY

Residents question proximity of chemical storage; company passed 2014 environmental assessment

Residents raised questions on Friday about the distance between a hazardous chemical warehouse that exploded at a port in Tianjin and nearby residential neighborhoods.

Nearby buildings were seriously damaged in the massive blasts on Wednesday night that killed more than 50 people.

David Zhang, who lives in the Tianjin Economic Technology Development Zone, where the company is located, said he and his neighbors were concerned about how close the warehouse was to their homes.

His home is several blocks from the site, but the blast was so powerful that a door in a room facing the warehouse was blown off its hinges.

"I think the warehouse was built too close to the neighbor-hood. People who did the planning should give more consideration to the neighborhood," he said.

The warehouse belonged to Ruihai International Logistics Co, a private company that handles the transit and distribution of hazardous chemicals.

The distance between a hazardous chemical warehouse larger than 550 square meters and public buildings or main roads should be no less than 1 kilometer, according to State Administration of Work Safety requirements.

However, it wasn't immediately clear how large the warehouse was or whether it was in compliance with the regulations.