On the first anniversary of the major March 21 explosion in Xiangshui, the Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee visited the site to conduct an on-site inspection.

According to a report by the Xinhua Daily, over the past year since the “3·21” accident in Xiangshui, progress has been smooth across various fronts, including the removal of hazardous chemical materials, the dismantling of enterprise facilities, and wastewater treatment, with safety hazards largely eliminated. At the site of post-accident response efforts, Lou Qinjian, Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, listened to briefings on the situation, inspected the emergency wastewater treatment project, and expressed full appreciation for the work carried out and the achievements attained over the past year.

During an inspection and research visit to Yancheng, Lou Qinjian emphasized: “We must resolutely and thoroughly carry out the transformation, and turn it into a whole new chapter!”

Lou Qinjian stated that the “March 21” accident has had a significant environmental impact and that subsequent remediation efforts are highly complex. He emphasized the need to press on with unwavering determination, continue to carry out the work in a scientific and prudent manner, and ensure that no secondary pollution arises. Building on the measures already taken to address the losses suffered by local residents, he called for accelerating overall development to boost their incomes. At the same time, while firmly advancing environmental governance, he urged that, guided by the new development philosophy, proactive planning be undertaken to chart the next phase of development for this region.

During the field visit, Lou Qinjian chaired a symposium and heard a briefing on Yancheng’s work. He pointed out that Yancheng’s development is at a critical juncture and that it must draw profound lessons from the March 21 accident in Xiangshui. Focusing on the “six ‘whys,’” Yancheng should further emancipate its mind and forge a shared vision, unswervingly implement the new development philosophy, thoroughly break free from reliance on traditional development paths, and accelerate progress toward green and high-quality development.

Lou Qinjian emphasized the need to firmly shoulder the historical responsibility of this generation, continuously and vigorously advance transformation and upgrading, and ensure that such efforts are resolute, thorough, and yield new prospects. For enterprises that are backward, unsafe, or environmentally harmful, those that should be relocated must be resolutely relocated, and those that should be shut down must be completely closed. Based on Yancheng’s foundations and conditions, we must grasp the trends of social development and technological progress, and systematically plan industrial restructuring from a whole‑industry‑chain perspective. We must boldly “replace cages with greenery,” “empty cages to attract new industries,” and “open cages to draw in investment,” effectively addressing longstanding pollution issues. While safeguarding the ecological environment, we should accelerate the introduction and implementation of a batch of high‑level major projects, create new drivers of growth, and build a competitive modern industrial system.

Lou Qinjian emphasized that, taking the State Council’s supervisory team’s special campaign on workplace safety as an opportunity, we must intensify efforts to elevate intrinsic safety levels and accelerate the modernization of the workplace safety governance system and governance capacity. We need to conduct in-depth research into how to achieve intrinsic safety, adhere to the principles governing industrial development and workplace safety, and comprehensively integrate risk prevention and control, regulatory enforcement, and comprehensive governance, thereby reducing and eliminating risks at their source. In terms of industrial planning, we must strictly enforce project准入 standards, firmly rejecting any projects that fail to meet safety and environmental protection requirements. Regarding technological application, we should draw on and replicate the successful practices from this epidemic response—such as “big data plus grid management plus on-the-ground inspections”—to enhance our ability to identify, warn of, and prevent workplace safety risks. Finally, in strengthening accountability, we must shift from passive prevention to source‑level control, from concentrated rectification to standardized management, and from post‑event investigations to bolstered foundational measures, thus expediting the formation of synergistic working mechanisms.

Yancheng: Striving to basically complete the annual improvement and upgrading tasks in the first half of the year.

On March 19, Yancheng City convened a citywide special meeting on the safety and environmental remediation and upgrading of the chemical industry, emphasizing that transformation and upgrading must be guided by the new development philosophy, with resolute and thorough efforts to advance safety and environmental improvements, and unwavering commitment to promoting the safe, green, and high-quality development of the chemical sector.

According to the Yancheng Municipal Government website, the meeting noted that since last year, Yancheng City has earnestly implemented the relevant requirements of the provincial authorities and vigorously carried out safety and environmental remediation and upgrading in the chemical industry, achieving certain results. However, the remediation task remains daunting, necessitating a further intensification of efforts.

There are no backward industries—only backward enterprises. The meeting emphasized the need to align with set goals and targets, maintain targeted and sustained efforts, resolutely complete remediation and upgrading tasks, and focus on elevating the development level of the chemical industry. We must closely adhere to high‑level park standards and vigorously carry out the rectification of chemical parks. For parks that are to be retained, clearly define their boundaries, meticulously draft development plans, benchmark against top‑tier chemical parks, promptly address existing shortcomings, and comprehensively strengthen capacity building in areas such as regulatory teams and information‑based management, thereby creating green, low‑carbon, circular, smart, and safe chemical parks. Parks that have been delisted from the chemical‑industry designation must swiftly implement follow‑up measures and, within a specified timeframe, complete the shutdown and clearance of all enterprises. Evaluations of chemical enterprises’ production processes should be conducted scientifically, based on criteria that reflect the laws of industrial development, promote circular growth, and ensure a well‑integrated industrial chain, with tailored strategies and differentiated treatment for each enterprise. The strictest remediation standards must be enforced: only when all assessment requirements are met may production resume, and ongoing dynamic oversight must be maintained to ensure the safe and stable operation of enterprises. No new projects shall be approved outside chemical parks, and existing enterprises located outside designated zones should be encouraged to relocate into the parks. We must resolutely shut down outdated, low‑end enterprises that have failed to meet deadlines or whose remediation remains inadequate, ensuring that all eligible facilities are closed without exception.

The overhaul of the chemical industry is a tough battle. The meeting stressed that all localities and departments must squarely confront challenges, boldly assume responsibility, ensure accountability at every level, and foster coordinated efforts between city and county authorities to pool resources and achieve synergy. The goal is to basically complete this year’s remediation and upgrading tasks in the first half of the year, delivering a satisfactory outcome to the public.

Jiangsu Province Conducts a Province-Wide Emergency Drill for Production Safety Accidents

Xinhua Daily reported that, in order to draw profound lessons from the devastating March 21 accident in Xiangshui, adopt a proactive approach to address underlying issues, and strengthen workplace safety with greater determination and effort, thereby ensuring a satisfactory record in this critical area as the province strives for dual victories, the Jiangsu Provincial Safety Committee held an expanded plenary meeting and a province-wide emergency response drill for serious and extremely serious production safety incidents on March 21. Governor and Chairman of the Provincial Safety Committee Wu Zhenglong attended and addressed the gathering, while Sun Huashan, Executive Deputy Head of the State Council Supervision Team and Vice Minister of Emergency Management, observed the proceedings and also delivered remarks.

High‑reach aerial firefighting vehicles, robots, mobile water cannons, and ultra‑heavy‑duty integrated fire‑suppression systems sprang into action at the command, resembling a giant dragon emerging from the sea and a sharp sword being drawn, rushing straight to the blaze and unleashing torrents of water until all open flames were extinguished. This exercise simulated an unexpected malfunction in a production unit at a chemical enterprise in Changzhou, triggering an accident. In response to the evolving situation, the provincial government activated the Level‑I emergency response. All members of the Provincial Safety Committee, along with relevant departments and units at the provincial, municipal, and district levels, conducted a full‑process, full‑element live‑fire drill under the most extreme, challenging, and adverse conditions.

Following the on-site drill, Wu Zhenglong emphasized the need to carry out in-depth and rigorous special rectifications for workplace safety, strictly implement the “Three Controls, Three Musts” requirements, and ensure that accountability is firmly established at every level. He called for a comprehensive strengthening of safety management in the production of hazardous chemicals, adopting tailored measures—“one plan per enterprise” and “one plan per industrial park”—to address risks at their source, through integrated and precision‑based approaches, thereby promoting the safe, green, and high‑quality development of the chemical industry. Special rectifications must be meticulously implemented across 27 key areas, including transportation, construction, oil and gas pipelines, special equipment, urban gas, and fire safety in high-rise buildings, with particular attention paid to urban safety as the top priority. Upholding a problem‑oriented, goal‑oriented, and results‑oriented approach, all potential risks and hazards must be thoroughly identified and effectively addressed, ensuring that the outcomes of these special campaigns are reflected in the prevention of serious and extremely serious workplace accidents, a substantial reduction in both the number of incidents and fatalities, the identification and remediation of a batch of major safety risks and hidden dangers, and an overall improvement in intrinsic safety levels.

Review of the Particularly Major Explosion Accident at Tianjiayi

At 2:48 p.m. on March 21, 2019, 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 amounting to RMB 1,986.3507 million.

The accident investigation team determined that the particularly serious explosion on March 21 at Jiangsu Xiangshui Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd. was a major production safety liability accident caused by the long-term illegal storage of hazardous waste, which led to spontaneous combustion and subsequently triggered the explosion.

Source: China Chemical Industry News