Chinese authorities have reported that sodium cyanide in the bodies of water surrounding the Tianjin blast sites have risen to critical levels.
CNN reports that the Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau conducted tests on the river, sea, and wastewater around the Tianjin Binhai New Area, where last week's blasts happened, and have found that some areas contain up to 356 times the acceptable amount of cyanide.
Cyanide at these levels points to China's need for a massive cleanup. As of this writing, 20% of the poision has already been cleaned up. Deng Xiaowen, environmental monitoring official, said that the cyanide-filled water is "blocked in the blast area."
The local government is now under immense pressure from the highest Politburo offices to improve the industrial safety of Tianjin, the world's 10th busiest port. The blast claimed 114 lives and has displaced thousands.
An emergency meeting was called by the Politburo Standing Committee and all levels of government were included to discuss the industrial safety situation in port cities and other industrial areas.
One of the emergency meeting's resolutions was for the entire Tianjin Binhai New Area to relocate 25 km away to the Nangang Industrial Zone.
Officials from Tianjin released a statement saying they have determined that the warehouses contained 2,500 tons of 40 types of goods that can be classified into three categories.
According to them, the breakdown goes as: 1,300 tons of explosive oxidizing chemicals including ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate, 500 tons of flammable chemicals including sodium and magnesium, and 700 tons of poison, which was mainly sodium cyanide.
It has also been revealed that there were many structures like apartments and a railway station were built too close to the warehouses as per Chinese regulations.
They are also contemplating on whether to buy back the almost 17,000 apartments damaged after Tianjin locals demanded some sort of compensation for the blasts.
