nuclear-news

Were there radioactive materials in the Tianjin warehouse?

As China races to clean up the still very dangerous Tianjin explosion site, and censors the Internet on news and images of this disaster – we are left with the question  – “What was stored in that warehouse?”

The fact that military staff, and International Atomic Energy Agency staff rushed to the area – does make you think that Chinese authorities considered that there was radioactive material stored in that warehouse.

If that were the case – the local area and even Beijing might be in danger from radioactive isotopes blown out by the massive explosion.

Unfortunately, information about this possibility is not forthcoming.

It underlines a serious problem about China being the current poster boy for the nuclear industry. A totalitarian and secretive regime is simply not  a safe place at all for nuclear facilities.

Tianjin doesn’t have nuclear power plants, as far as I can find out. But it is  a worry to find that Tianjin has a company that makes nuclear reactors – Tianjin Electric Power Company – Construction of Nuclear Power Plants  http://www.tepc.com.cn/en/MainBusiness.asp?Title=HeDianJS

Of course, it’s not as if ionising radiation is the only, or even the most serious, threat from this explosion. The chemical fallout in itself is  a monstrous heath hazard to the clean-up workers, and to the area’s residents.

August 17, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes