1. Tianjin is a port city bordering the Hebei province and the Beijing municipality in China.

Its urban
population is fourth largest in the country behind cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai and
Beijing. It is also considered as one of China's most rapidly advancing areas for industrial and
financial activity with about 285 Fortune 500 companies set up in Tianjin's Binhai region.

2. The August 12, 2015 explosion took place in a building owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai
International Logistics in an area reportedly used to store dangerous and chemical goods. Early
suggestions said that the two separate blasts occurred following a series of chemical reactions
most likely exasberated by the presence of water on site. According to reports, a fire broke out
at a warehouse at Tianjin Port around 10:50 p.m. Firefighters arrived shortly after and turned
their hoses on the fire. However, being that the warehouse held dangerous chemicals
something that firefighters were not aware of attempts to fight the fire with water
unfortunately set off a series of violent chemical explosions. The first blast occurred with the
explosive force of 3 tons of TNT. That explosion was quickly followed by a devastating blast that
was 7 times more powerful and sent a massive fireball thousands of feet into the air. Numerous
other explosions occurred during the next three days, until all fires were finally extinguished on
August 15th, 2015.

3. In the aftermath of the disaster, Chinese state media revealed that “ground zero” for the initial
fire and explosion was shipping containers containing hazardous chemicals. Ruihai Logistics
company was said to specialise in the handling of hazardous materials. Further investigation
revealed that Ruihai Logistics had been operating illegally on an expired license for nearly a year,
and had obtained authorization to handle dangerous chemicals such as calcium carbide, sodium
nitrate, and potassium nitrate, less than two months prior to the disaster.

4. While it is a standard practice for companies to enlist the ongoing aid of safety consultants in
establishing proper and up-to-date safety measures for storing and handling hazardous
materials, evidence suggests that this may not have been the case at the Tianjin Ruihai Logistics
plant. It also appears that a properly trained safety supervisor whose duty it is to make sure that
established safety protocols are adhered to at all times may not have been on the premises.
What was on the premises, according to the deputy director of the public security bureau, were
40 different hazardous chemicals all being stored in close proximity.

5. Among the many safety violations committed at the storage facility, the most notable was that
regulations requiring that hazardous chemicals be stored at least 1 kilometer away from public
buildings were completely ignored. In addition, poor record keeping and major discrepancies
found with customs paperwork prevented authorities from properly identifying exactly what
chemicals were being stored at the facility. Due to the absence of proper documentation and
disclosure by Ruihai Logistics of the hazardous nature of the chemicals being stored in the
facility where the fire first erupted, first responders many of whom were reported as being very
 young and improperly trained had no way of knowing that their attempts to douse the fire with
water would result in a massive and deadly chain reaction.

6. When water mixes with certain chemicals, such as calcium carbide, it causes the rapid release of
highly volatile acetylene gas. When that gas came in contact with the fire, it could have
detonated an estimated several thousand tons of ammonium nitrate, which is used in the
manufacture of fertiliser and was stored at the facility.

7. Whether as the result of carelessness on the part of Ruhai Logistics, or by deliberate design, the
5,600 families reported to live in the densely populated area near the Ruihai Logistics plant had
no idea of the danger that the storage facility posed. Thousands of people have been left
homeless as homes and apartment buildings damaged by the blasts remain uninhabitable. Along
with scores of local inhabitants, nearly one hundred firefighters and a dozen police officers lost
their lives in the Tianjin explosions.

8. The media characterised the event as an “accident” , however, there is little debate that this
tragic incident could have been prevented. By adhering to safety regulations, implementing best
practice safety protocols, properly training personnel, and remaining ever vigilant to make sure
that all safety measures are strictly enforced, organizations that handle and store hazardous
materials can prevent what happened at Tianjin from occurring at their facilities.