Is China the worst place for industrial accidents?

If recent events are anything to go by, China must currently be the worst place for industrial accidents.

As recently as last Thursday, 11 workers were killed and two seriously injured when an elevator at a construction site in northern China fell due to snapped cable, state media reported. The Voice of China radio said the accident, the latest in a series of deadly industrial incidents, occurred around 8 am in the Hebei province city of Hengshui. It didn’t say how far the elevator fell.

Recent months have been particularly deadly for Chinese workers, underscoring shoddy enforcement of safety regulations and a desire by management to cut corners as the economy slows.

In late March, at least seven people were killed and five injured when a container containing scrap metal exploded. The early morning blast in the city of Kunshan in Jiangsu province caused a fire that spread to a nearby workshop.

Earlier in March, 78 people were killed in a blast at a chemical plant in the Jiangsu province city of Yancheng that had numerous safety violations, in one of China’s worst industrial accidents in recent years. A massive crater was formed, windows blown out for kilometres around and vehicles crushed. Schools were closed and nearly 1000 residents were moved to safety as a precaution against leaks and additional explosions, according to the city government. Drains and waterways running through and from the plant complex had to be blocked to prevent toxic chemicals from running into the nearby Yellow Sea.

The Yancheng disaster occurred at a factory run by the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. Located among a cluster of chemical factories in Yancheng, it has a dismal safety record: in February 2018, China’s State Administration for Work Safety cited 13 types of safety hazards at the company, including mishandling of tanks of toxic benzene, believed to be the source of the explosion.

China experiences frequent industrial accidents despite orders from the central government, including President and ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, to improve safety at factories, power plants and mines, on pain of prosecution. Skirting of safety regulations — sometimes with the collusion of corrupt local officials — is generally given as the cause.

Image caption: The Yancheng chemical plant explosion resulted in the deaths of 78 people. Source: Chinatopix via AP.