CHINA TOPIX

05/03/2024 04:05:18 am

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Ammonia Leak Poisons Over 30 in Northwest China Chemical Plant

Rescuers rush at Shanghai Cold Storage Plant during Ammonia Leak

(Photo : Reuters)

More than 30 people have been poisoned after a pipe containing liquid ammonia went loose at a chemical plant in China's northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

On Monday, authorities confirmed that at least 33 people became sick after inhaling the ammonia gas from a broken pipe in the Jiemeifengyou Chemical Plant at the Ningdong Energy and Chemical production base in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region capital Yichuan.

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Most of the victims shown minor signs of poisoning though four have been reported to have suffered severed poisoning.

After an all-night emergency medical treatment, the four victims were declared to be out of danger.

According to witnesses, the broken piping emitted highly concentrated volume of ammonia liquids and ammonia gas on Saturday at around 3:45 in the afternoon.

A Xinhua news agency report published on Monday indicated that the company allegedly sprayed water in polluted areas to keep the air clean and dilute the gas.

During the report's release, the air quality in surrounding the plant had been stabilized and was considered to have met company safety standards.

Investigations on the cause of the leak are still underway.

China, a country which I considered as the world's second largest economy, had very poor work place safety measure rating.

Several gas leaks instances have been reported in the country in 2014 alone.

On August 30, a liquid ammonia leak at a cold storage facility in Shanghai had killed 15 people and injured 26 others. Six of the injured were reported to be in critical condition.

The leak happened at Shanghai Weng's Cold Storage Industrial Co. Ltd in eastern Shanghai's Baoshan district at around 10:50 a.m. local time.

Ammonia is a chemical that causes sore throat, cough, difficulty in breathing, chest tightening and-in worst cases-a deadly cardiac arrest when inhaled.

It damages the capability of blood cells to carry oxygen to different parts of the body.

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