An incident of toxic chemical spill due to flange gaskets breakage
On November 4th, People in Quangang (a district in Quanzhou, Fujian Province) were jarred by an odor permeating in the air that spread from the area of Shangxi Village, Houlong Town and Fengqian Village, Fengwei Town. At the same time, parts of the sea were contaminated by a tawny oil-like leakage.
These "anomalies" were happened at about 1:14 a. m., whose underlying cause was the aging and breakage of flange gaskets connected to the wharf. According to reports, this major accident, which occurred when Fujian Donggang Petrochemical Company was transferring C9 aromatic hydrocarbon (a toxic substance) between the wharf and a vessel, spilled6.9 69.1 tons (update) of C9 aromatics into the sea.
After the leakage, the local government issued several environmental bulletins, claiming that the oil pollution has been completely cleared and the atmospheric indicator has returned to normal, yadda yadda. In the information presented by the officials, it seemed like the situation was not even close to severity and has been effectively dealt with.
However, the interviews from some media and local residents' WeChat Moments appeared to be a totally different state — the plastic foam supporting the fish rafts was corroded, the oil spilled on the surface of the sea was still not cleaned, many villagers were feeling unwell and sent to hospital...
Who lied about the matter? At least on the Internet, quite a few local people continue to provide evidence to confirm the investigation from reporters who didn't wear a surgical mask while saying the air quality was good. They not only questioned the cause of the accident, the follow-up work of the local government, but also the already unbearable local environment before the C9 leakage — some chemical plants secretly emitted exhaust gas in the small hours, the high incidence of cancer was an open secret among locals.
The leakage seems to be an accident at first glance yet indeed covers a lot of factors. According to the causes (the aging and breakage of flange gaskets) announced by the local government, it can not even be defined as an accident (It could be said as an accident if it was caused by an unpredictable ship collision.) since such a tragedy can be avoided by regular inspection and replacing. No one discovering the aging and breakage of parts for transferring hazardous chemical products is enough to prove the faultiness of daily management.
It wasn't until four days later, in the evening of Nov. 8th that CCTV.com posted a report named Beyond the Event, There Is a Need for Deeper Accountability on Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging site in China, then the other major media started to publish follow-up articles.
Many local people have raised the issue that chemical companies and residential areas are way too close based on scientific standards. Of course, not all chemical companies must stay away from residential areas, but only if the environmental evaluation is appropriate, the companies have necessary equipment and follow the required procedures for pollution treatment. What people are worried about now is that the chemical companies around them just don't consider the harm to the surrounding areas and arbitrarily pollute the environment for the sake of their own good. Furthermore, the lack of needed supervision for enterprises and people not knowing how to defend their rights after being violated are exposed after this C9 leakage event. In the light of this, worries from local people are not out of nowhere.
Next, let's take a look at the "scapegoats" in this incident, flanges, and flange gaskets. Flanges are a part that connects shafts, pipes, or pipe fitting. Before fastening by screws, each of two pipes, or fittings is set on one flange with a gasket added between the two flanges.
People who work in the petrochemical industry are no stranger to them. PTEF gaskets are generally used for the purpose of anti-corrosion. But in the long-term immersion of hydrocarbons, the mechanical performance of PTEF gaskets will reduce due to swelling. Not to mention that regular inspection and replacement are fundamental tasks for the operators.
These "anomalies" were happened at about 1:14 a. m., whose underlying cause was the aging and breakage of flange gaskets connected to the wharf. According to reports, this major accident, which occurred when Fujian Donggang Petrochemical Company was transferring C9 aromatic hydrocarbon (a toxic substance) between the wharf and a vessel, spilled
After the leakage, the local government issued several environmental bulletins, claiming that the oil pollution has been completely cleared and the atmospheric indicator has returned to normal, yadda yadda. In the information presented by the officials, it seemed like the situation was not even close to severity and has been effectively dealt with.
However, the interviews from some media and local residents' WeChat Moments appeared to be a totally different state — the plastic foam supporting the fish rafts was corroded, the oil spilled on the surface of the sea was still not cleaned, many villagers were feeling unwell and sent to hospital...
Who lied about the matter? At least on the Internet, quite a few local people continue to provide evidence to confirm the investigation from reporters who didn't wear a surgical mask while saying the air quality was good. They not only questioned the cause of the accident, the follow-up work of the local government, but also the already unbearable local environment before the C9 leakage — some chemical plants secretly emitted exhaust gas in the small hours, the high incidence of cancer was an open secret among locals.
The leakage seems to be an accident at first glance yet indeed covers a lot of factors. According to the causes (the aging and breakage of flange gaskets) announced by the local government, it can not even be defined as an accident (It could be said as an accident if it was caused by an unpredictable ship collision.) since such a tragedy can be avoided by regular inspection and replacing. No one discovering the aging and breakage of parts for transferring hazardous chemical products is enough to prove the faultiness of daily management.
It wasn't until four days later, in the evening of Nov. 8th that CCTV.com posted a report named Beyond the Event, There Is a Need for Deeper Accountability on Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging site in China, then the other major media started to publish follow-up articles.
Many local people have raised the issue that chemical companies and residential areas are way too close based on scientific standards. Of course, not all chemical companies must stay away from residential areas, but only if the environmental evaluation is appropriate, the companies have necessary equipment and follow the required procedures for pollution treatment. What people are worried about now is that the chemical companies around them just don't consider the harm to the surrounding areas and arbitrarily pollute the environment for the sake of their own good. Furthermore, the lack of needed supervision for enterprises and people not knowing how to defend their rights after being violated are exposed after this C9 leakage event. In the light of this, worries from local people are not out of nowhere.
Next, let's take a look at the "scapegoats" in this incident, flanges, and flange gaskets. Flanges are a part that connects shafts, pipes, or pipe fitting. Before fastening by screws, each of two pipes, or fittings is set on one flange with a gasket added between the two flanges.
People who work in the petrochemical industry are no stranger to them. PTEF gaskets are generally used for the purpose of anti-corrosion. But in the long-term immersion of hydrocarbons, the mechanical performance of PTEF gaskets will reduce due to swelling. Not to mention that regular inspection and replacement are fundamental tasks for the operators.
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