Qingdao continues recovery (2)

English>>China Politics

Editor's Pick

By He Na and Xie Chuanjiao in Qingdao, and Cui Jia and Tang Yue in Beijing (China Daily) 08:39, November 25, 2013

Email|Print|Comments

twitter

facebook

Sina Microblog

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits medical staffers at the affiliated hospital of Qingdao University in Huangdao district, where the survivors from Friday's oil pipeline blast are being treated, in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on the afternoon of Nov 24, 2013. (Photo/xinhuanet.com)

Complicated network

Friday's blast occurred at around 10:30 am, as workers were cleaning up fuel that had been spotted leaking from the pipeline more than seven hours earlier. Angry local residents are now asking why no official warning was given when the leak was initially discovered and why the pipeline was situated so close to a built-up area.

Under regulations that came into force in 2003, crude oil pipelines must be situated at least 15 meters away from public places and residential areas. They must also be at least 20 meters from factories and production areas.

However, in 2001, the Qingdao-based Peninsula Metropolis Daily reported that some buildings stand within 5 meters of the pipeline, which was laid in 1986 and predates the 2003 regulations. The residential section of Huangdao was built in the 1980s and 90s.
Guo Jishan, deputy secretary general of Qingdao municipal government, said that when it was laid, the pipeline conformed with the rules, but admitted that many pipelines run below Huangdao and they often overlap. "The pipeline system in Huangdao is very complicated — there are at least 11 different ones," he said.

Sinopec denied media reports that the 248-km-long pipeline, which runs across part of Shandong, from Dongying to Huangdao, was laid in August 2012.

The company said the pipeline was identified as a potential risk in 2011 and it plans to reroute five sections, including the 15 to 16 km running below Huangdao, plus two other pipelines in the province. However, it said the work has been stalled because the environmental impact of the plans is still under official assessment.

In a public announcement related to the first round of the environmental impact assessment in 2011, Sinopec said: "The area where the pipelines are located has become an extremely busy location, with many new buildings and a dense population. Some of the pipelines have been built over, making them inaccessible for repair and many of those we are able to reach are too close to buildings and it's difficult to maintain the erosion-resistant-layers. That makes them a potential safety hazard."

Sinopec conducted a nationwide safety inspection on an "unprecedented scale" in October, according to the company's website. Qingdao municipal government confirmed that the company inspected the pipeline at the center of Friday's tragedy, but was unable to give any further details.