CYANIDE has been detected in water samples collected near the blast site in Binhai New Area in Tianjin, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said yesterday.

    Two massive explosions, which occurred in the port city just before midnight Aug. 12, have killed 114 people and devastated a large area.

    Environmental authorities set up 27 additional water monitoring sites, three of which reported excessive levels of cyanide, with some samples containing 27.4 times the normal limit. Two of the original monitoring stations reported cyanide levels of 1.25 to 2.2 times the standard.

    Most of the sodium cyanide surrounding the blast area would be collected and cleared by yesterday, He Shushan, vice mayor of Tianjin, said at a press conference in the morning.

    Some of the highly toxic chemicals were scattered at the periphery, but mostly within a 100,000-square-meter core area, He said, adding that sand and earth barriers were built around the core area to prevent any leakage.

    A “very complicated and difficult” cleanup, partially due to the presence of 16,500 empty shipping containers within the core area, is under way, he said.

    Workers were searching empty shipping containers for chemicals dispersed by the blasts, He said.

    Bao Jingling, chief engineer of the city’s bureau of environmental protection, said that the roughly 700 tons of sodium cyanide that had been stored at the site “remained mostly unaffected.”

    Sodium cyanide is a highly toxic white, water-soluble powder that prevents the body from using oxygen. It is fatal if inhaled or ingested. It is mainly used in chemical manufacturing and to extract gold and other metals in mining. When treated with acid, it releases the highly poisonous gas hydrogen cyanide.

    (Xinhua)

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