When safety comes in second

Catholic New Times, Dec 18, 2005

BEIJING -- A series of industrial accidents in China has highlighted the country's 'pellmell' economic growth and poor safety standards.

The Dongfeng Coal Mine, in northeastern Heilongjiang province, recently blew up killing at least 134 people and trapping more than 100 miners underground, the Cox News Service reported. The explosion came only two weeks after a petrochemical blast in Jilin province, which killed five factory workers and released more than 100 tonnes of nitrobenzene and benzene (a carcinogen linked to leukemia). The pollution created a 80-kilometre chemical slick in the Songhua River, which drifted downstream toward Russia's Amur River.

Booming demand for energy--roughly 70 per cent of which comes from coal in China--has increased prices and contributed to a particularly egregious mining safety record. As China's economy steadily grew over the last two decades, the number of accidents at factories and mines also multiplied. China accounted for 80 per cent of world fatalities caused by mining accidents last year. According to government statistics, 2,789 Chinese were killed in accidents on construction sites in 2004, while 6,027 people were killed in mines. Environmentalists have criticized the country's lack of openness in reporting casualties and dealing with disasters.

In September, Beijing finally ordered the closure of illegal and unsafe mines. It also told government officials to withdraw investments in some countries.

"Accidents have already become an important factor restricting the development of a harmonious economy and society," Li Yizhong, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, told the state-run China News Service in August.