A ternary combination formulation of thiamethoxam, pyraclostrobin, and difenoconazole has been successfully developed; however, it has not yet been registered.

The persons held accountable have been seriously investigated and dealt with; two vice governors, who bear significant leadership responsibility, have been held accountable.

Recently, the State Council approved the investigation report on the particularly serious March 21 explosion at Jiangsu Xiangshui Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd. According to the findings of the State Council’s investigation team, the March 21 explosion was a particularly serious production safety accident caused by the long-term illegal storage of hazardous waste, which led to spontaneous combustion and subsequently triggered the blast.

Review

An explosion left hundreds hospitalized.

At approximately 2:48 p.m. on March 21, a particularly serious explosion occurred at Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd., located in the Ecological Chemical Industrial Park of Xiangshui County, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, resulting in 78 deaths, 76 critically injured, and 640 people hospitalized, with direct economic losses totaling RMB 1.986 billion. Following the accident, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to the situation. General Secretary Xi Jinping issued multiple important instructions, calling for all-out emergency rescue efforts, timely medical treatment of the injured, thorough follow-up work, a swift investigation into the cause of the accident, and the prompt release of authoritative information. He emphasized that all localities and relevant departments must draw profound lessons, strengthen hazard identification and remediation, strictly enforce the safety production responsibility system, and ensure the safety of people’s lives and property. General Secretary Xi Jinping specifically pointed out that there remains a significant gap in implementing safety production measures and stressed the need to learn from this incident and take corrective actions before further tragedies occur. Premier Li Keqiang and other leading officials also issued directives, urging the adoption of robust measures to control sources of danger, conduct further inspections to identify and eliminate safety hazards in key sectors such as hazardous chemicals, and resolutely prevent the occurrence of major and especially serious accidents. At the direction of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, State Councilor Wang Yong led responsible officials from relevant departments to immediately travel to the scene to oversee emergency response and rescue operations.

Investigation

Spontaneous combustion of waste material due to temperature rise triggered an explosion.

On March 22, the State Council Investigation Team for the “3·21” extraordinarily serious explosion accident in Xiangshui, Jiangsu Province, was established. Led by the Ministry of Emergency Management, the team includes representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, and the Jiangsu Provincial Government, and has engaged experts in explosives, criminal investigation, chemical engineering, environmental protection, and other fields to assist with the investigation.

The accident investigation team determined that the direct cause of the incident was the sustained heat buildup and temperature rise in nitration waste illegally stored for an extended period in Tianjiayi Company’s old solid-waste storage facility, which led to spontaneous combustion and, subsequently, an explosion. The investigation concluded that Tianjiayi Company disregarded national environmental protection and workplace safety laws and regulations, deliberately underreported, illegally stored, and improperly disposed of nitration waste; its safety and environmental management was chaotic, routine inspections were falsified, and facilities such as the solid-waste warehouse were constructed without prior approval. Furthermore, the relevant intermediary agencies responsible for environmental impact assessments and safety evaluations engaged in serious violations of laws and regulations, issuing false and inaccurate assessment reports.

The accident investigation team also determined that emergency management authorities at all levels in Jiangsu Province failed to adequately fulfill their comprehensive oversight responsibilities for workplace safety; the ecological and environmental protection authorities did not conscientiously perform their duties regarding the regulation of hazardous waste; and departments including industry and information technology, market regulation, planning, housing and urban–rural development, and fire services all exhibited varying degrees of regulatory violations. Xiangshui County and the Ecological Chemical Industrial Park were lax in vetting investment projects for safety and environmental compliance, turning a blind eye to the long‑standing, significant risks and hazards at Tianjiayi Company, and conducting post‑resumption inspections in a perfunctory manner. Furthermore, both Jiangsu Province and Yancheng City failed to earnestly implement the accountability system for local Party and government leaders concerning workplace safety, resulting in incomplete, superficial, and inadequate identification, assessment, and control of major safety risks.

The accident investigation team has referred all leads regarding violations of laws, disciplines, and regulations uncovered during the investigation to the relevant authorities for handling, and has forwarded any significant safety‑production issues identified to the appropriate departments and local authorities for resolution.

Processing

Criminal measures have been taken against multiple individuals.

Following the accident, the discipline inspection and supervision authorities of Jiangsu Province held 61 public officials accountable in accordance with regulations, disciplinary rules, and the law for alleged violations of discipline and law. Meanwhile, the public security organs of Jiangsu Province initiated criminal investigations into 44 individuals from enterprises and intermediary agencies suspected of illegal conduct and imposed relevant coercive measures.

Ni Chengliang, legal representative, chairman and general manager of Jiangsu Ni Jiaxiang Group Co., Ltd., as well as the de facto controller of Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd.; Zhang Qinyue, general manager of Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd.; Shan Guoxun, chairman of Jiangsu Tiangong Dacheng Safety Technology Co., Ltd.; and 41 other individuals have been placed under criminal investigation by public security authorities and subjected to coercive measures on suspicion of the crimes of illegal storage of hazardous substances, major work safety accidents, environmental pollution, and providing false certification documents. Meanwhile, 15 public officials—including Zhu Congguo, Party Committee Secretary of the Xiangshui Ecological Chemical Industrial Park; Sun Feng, Director of the Xiangshui County Emergency Management Bureau; and Wen Jinsong, then Director of the Xiangshui County Environmental Protection Bureau—have been placed under disciplinary and legal investigation by the supervisory authorities and subjected to detention measures for alleged serious violations of discipline and law.

Meanwhile, Jiangsu Province has held 46 public officials accountable for negligence and dereliction of duty in connection with the accident, including officials from Xiangshui County, Yancheng City, as well as the Provincial Emergency Management Department and the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment. Specifically, it is proposed to impose a Party warning on Dai Yuan, Secretary of the Yancheng Municipal Party Committee, with approval to be sought in accordance with regulations; to issue a record of demerit as an administrative penalty to Cao Lubao, Deputy Secretary of the Yancheng Municipal Party Committee and Mayor; to give Cui Aiguo, Secretary of the Xiangshui County Party Committee, a serious Party warning and remove him from his post; to revoke the Party membership and demote Dan Yonghong, Deputy Secretary of the Xiangshui County Party Committee and County Mayor; to impose a record of demerit as an administrative penalty on Chen Zhongwei, Party Secretary and Director of the Provincial Emergency Management Department; and to impose a record of demerit as an administrative penalty on Wang Tianqi, Party Secretary and Director of the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment. Other relevant persons held accountable have also been subjected to corresponding Party disciplinary and administrative sanctions.

Disciplinary action

Two vice governors of Jiangsu Province have been held accountable.

Recently, with the approval of the CPC Central Committee, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission have initiated disciplinary review and investigation into the dereliction of duty and accountability lapses of Fan Jinlong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Executive Vice Governor, and Fei Gaoyun, a Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province, in connection with the particularly serious “3·21” explosion accident at Jiangsu Xiangshui Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd.

Upon investigation, Comrade Fan Jinlong, as a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Executive Vice Governor responsible for work related to workplace safety (and emergency management), failed to provide adequate leadership and oversight over provincial-level safety‑production efforts, and bears significant leadership responsibility for the occurrence of the particularly serious March 21 explosion at Jiangsu Xiangshui Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd. Comrade Fei Gaoyun, who successively oversaw or co‑oversaw workplace safety (and emergency management) and temporarily managed ecological and environmental protection, likewise failed to exercise effective leadership and supervision over provincial safety‑production and environmental‑protection initiatives, and bears substantial leadership responsibility for the accident. In advancing workplace safety and ecological‑environmental protection, both Comrades Fan Jinlong and Fei Gaoyun demonstrated inadequate leadership and committed grave errors, causing severe losses to the Party’s cause and to the lives and property of the people, and generating adverse repercussions; they should therefore be held strictly accountable.

In accordance with the Regulations on Accountability of the Communist Party of China, the Regulations on Disciplinary Measures of the Communist Party of China, the Supervision Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations on Disciplinary Measures for Civil Servants in Administrative Organs, and other relevant provisions, and following deliberation at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and approval by the CPC Central Committee, it has been decided to impose an党内 warning (party‑disciplinary warning) on Comrade Fan Jinlong and to impose a government‑disciplinary demerit on Comrade Fei Gaoyun.

Text by Xinhua News Agency