Has China really learned safety lessons after massive Tianjin chemical warehouse explosions?

It was not until the Binhai new district in Tianjin in northern China was rocked with deadly blasts last August that many people living in the area had even the first inkling that they were living next to a warehouse storing more than 11,000 tonnes of chemicals and hazardous goods.

The authorities have since concluded an official investigation into one of the country’s worst industrial disasters, with 165 confirmed dead and eight still officially classed as missing after the explosions.

It recommended that 123 government employees be punished for offences including dereliction of duty.

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The question remains, however, over whether China has really learned lessons from the Tianjin blasts as there are still several thousand enterprises across the country involved in producing and storing hazardous chemicals.

The 107-page report released earlier this month by an investigation team led by the State Council proposed setting up a database of all organisations involved in producing, storing, using, transporting, as well as exporting and importing hazardous chemicals. The information could then be shared among different government departments for better supervision.

Investigators blamed more than 10 government departments for their role in the disaster – from work safety and environmental protection officials, to customs, the police and planners – for failing to supervise and oversee the dangerous goods warehouse.

It also ruled that legal loopholes and lax implementation of regulations had contributed to the disaster.