【英语中国】事故频发 中国工作场所安全状况堪忧

A deadly gas explosion and a chemical leak on Wednesday are the latest in a string of accidents to demonstrate China's problems with industrial safety.

The explosion of a propylene-gas line at a plastics factory in a densely populated section of the Chinese city of Nanjing killed at least 12 and injured scores outside the plant, state media said, illustrating the risks of placing manufacturing sites in crowded urban areas-a widespread practice.

The same day, in the latest water-pollution scare near the northern city of Jilin, chemical containers flooded into a river, prompting authorities to cut access to tap water in the area. The cutoff, in turn, spurred a run on water in supermarkets, just as a major chemical spill in almost the same place five years earlier did.

Mishaps that threaten lives and the environment are an everyday occurrence in China's workplaces-in coal mines, fireworks plants or at ports. In the first half of this year, an average of 187 people died per day in industrial accidents, China's government reported this month. While that figure marked an 11% drop from the first half of 2009, it offered a stark reminder of China's dismal record on workplace safety as its industries expand.

Beijing's decadeslong emphasis on economic growth has overshadowed efforts to ensure safe workplaces and a clean environment. The Communist Party's singular role in setting policy leaves little room for counterweights, such as corporate gadflies or an activist press, that might alter the equation. Corruption and collusion between, for example, factory owners and local inspectors limit the likelihood that laws protecting workers and the environment will be enforced.

The largest factor, perhaps, is that for many in the world's largest population, even dangerous jobs are enticing.

The environmental problems are complicated this year by China's particularly heavy rainy season. The water-pollution disaster in Jilin is blamed on rains that sent containers of a chemical used in explosives into the Songhua River.

State-run Xinhua news agency said more than 1,000 containers filled with 160,000 kilograms of Trimethylchlorosilicane, a colorless, flammable liquid with a pungent odor, were washed into the river. Xinhua said the chemical would give off hydrochloric acid after reacting with water, and quoted officials as saying a cleanup would take place if contamination were found.

This month in Fujian province, Zijin Mining Group Co. said floods led to the collapse of a basin containing wastewater near its copper facilities, which caused a major fish kill as it spilled into a river. Later, the miner acknowledged its own role, saying company failures also were to blame.

In another accident this month, a firefighter in the northeastern city of Dalian died during cleanup of an oil spill that followeda pipeline explosion.

Also compounding the risks are patchy zoning rules in Chinese cities, which sometimes mean homes closely surround factories. The 66-building compound involved of the Nanjing No. 4 Plastics Factory, where Wednesday's blast occurred, sits in an industrial-residential area, near a furniture shop and doctor's office, not far from provincial government offices downtown and the city's major park.

The midmorning blast sent as many as 300 people to area hospitals and clinics, filling the emergency rooms of five major downtown hospitals, which were running short of blood, the Xinhua news agency said. The death count may rise. China Central Television put the toll at 12 and said dozens remained critically injured.

Television footage showed how the initial blast damaged an area hundreds of feet away, leaving behind the charred twisted frames of a city bus and car, toppled brick walls and broken windows. Bloodied witnesses said the area shook like an earthquake. Firefighters spent four hours trying to seal the gas pipe, as orange fireballs spewed from a factory building roof.

The propylene pipeline was damaged when workers dismantled buildings at the factory, said a statement from the State Administration of Work Safety. The spark was from a car engine, it said.

Many Chinese cities aim to relocate industry. Numerous development zones encircle most Chinese cities, and town planners encourage companies to go. Factory owners often respond positively to take advantage of cheaper land, better transport and financial incentives. But the process can be slow going. In a notice posted on a local government website where companies advertise to potential investors, No. 4 Plastics said it started production in 1975.

Xinhua/ZUMA Press南京一塑料厂爆炸现场。周三发生的这一爆炸事件导致至少12人死亡。周三发生的燃气爆炸和化工原料泄漏是一连串安全事故中最新的几起，显示出中国在工业安全方面的问题。

官方媒体报导，在南京市人口稠密地段的一家塑料厂发生了丙烯管道爆炸，导致至少12人丧生，工厂外数百人受伤，说明将生产厂安置在人口稠密地区的风险，而这一作法非常普遍。

Reuters一名在爆炸中受伤的男子指着塑料厂的方向当天吉林市附近发生水污染事件，化工原料桶流入河内，地方当局切断当地水源，而这使人们纷纷涌入超市买水，五年前几乎在同一地点发生了重大化工泄漏事件，当时人们就是这样做的。

威胁生命和环境的事故每天发生在中国的各种工作场所，其中包括煤矿、烟花厂和港口。中国政府本月公布，今年上半年在工业事故中，平均每天死亡187人。尽管这一数据较2009年上半年明显下降11%，但这明显说明在中国工业扩张之际，工作场所的安全令人揪心。

中国几十年来一直强调经济发展，使确保生产场所安全和环境清洁的措施相形见绌。共产党单独制定政策，为能起到制衡作用的“企业牛虻”和积极的新闻媒体等力量留下的空间很有限。腐败和发生在工厂所有者与地方监察机构之间的勾结限制了工人和环境保护法律的执行力度。

可能最大的原因是，对在全世界人口最多的国家里的许多人来说，即使是危险的工作也是有吸引力的。

这些环境问题因中国今年雨季雨量特别大而复杂化。吉林市的水污染事件就被归因于降雨，降雨使化工原料桶流入松花江，这些化工原料是生产炸药所需的。

据新华社报导，1,000多个总计装有160,000公斤三甲基一氯硅烷的原料桶被冲入松花江中。三甲基一氯硅烷是一种无色、可燃、具有刺激性气味的液体。新华社说，三甲基一氯硅烷与水发生作用后，会产生盐酸。新华社还援引官员的话报导说，如果发现有污染现象，将进行清理。

本月在福建省，紫金矿业说，洪水造成其铜矿厂附近的一个污水池溃塌，污水流入江中造成鱼类大量死亡。之后，该公司承认了自身的责任，说公司的失误也是造成污染的原因之一。

在本月的另外一起事故中，大连的一条输油管道爆炸后石油发生泄漏，一名消防员在清除油污的过程中丧生。

令风险增大的是，中国城市实施的杂乱的分区规定，有时意味着工厂周边是密集的住宅。周三发生爆炸的南京第四塑料厂有66幢楼，位于一个工业住宅区，附近有一家家具店和诊所，距离市区的省政府大楼和南京市的一个主要公园不远。

据新华社报导，周三上午发生的爆炸造成多达300人受伤入院治疗，市区的五家大医院急诊室人满为患，血库告急。死亡人数可能会上升。中央电视台报导说死亡12人，数十人仍伤势严重。

电视画面显示，最初的爆炸破坏了数百英尺之外的一个地区，一辆公共汽车和轿车被烧得只剩下扭曲变形的骨架，砖墙倒塌，窗户破损。身上血迹斑斑的目击者说，这个地区就像发生了地震。消防员花了四个小时试图封堵输气管道，橙色的火球从一幢工厂建筑的屋顶中喷出。

中国国家安全生产监督管理总局在一份声明中说，在工人拆除工厂建筑时，丙烯管道受到破坏。声明说，火星是一辆轿车的引擎引起的。

中国很多城市计划将工业区遣址。大部分中国城市被数不清的开发区包围着，城市规划人士鼓励公司搬离市区。工厂厂主常常对此反应积极，以便可以享受低价的土地、更好的交通和资金刺激。不过，这个过程进展可能会很慢。在一个企业向潜在投资者进行宣传的地方政府网站上，一则通知中说，第四塑料厂称工厂是1975年开始投产的。