Communication to members on the 12th August 2015 explosion in Tianjin Go back »
2015-08-20 | Tianjin
Our wishes and prayers go out to the families of the deceased and to all those affected by this catastrophe.
We are relieved to inform you that, to the best of our knowledge, no European Chamber member was killed or injured.
The European Chamber is monitoring the ongoing situation, as we understand that there is still the possibility of the release of potentially toxic emissions from the blast site and anywhere within the 3 km-radius evacuation zone.
Please find below a list of initiatives that the European Chamber has undertaken as well as an ongoing effort (number four).
1. We have written a letter to the mayor of Tianjin, Mr Huang Xingguo, expressing our deepest condolences on the considerable loss of life, injury and damage caused fire as well as offering our willingness to help with the government’s response effort.
2. The European Chamber’s Petrochemicals, Chemicals and Refining Working Group (PCR Working Group) has drafted a position and is directly communicating it to its stakeholders as well.
3. We have looked into various independent sources which we believe provide factual information on the situation as it unfolds and we are collecting further input from our members. Please find links to these sources in the annex.
4. We would like to ask you, our members, what else the European Chamber can do in response to the incident and to help our other members.
1. Our letter to Mayor Huang was sent on 19th August, 2015. We are in frequent contact with the Tianjin municipal government authorities.
2. Please find herein below a statement from the European Chamber’s PCR Working Group:
“The European Chamber’s PCR Working Group represents the interests of some of the leading multinational chemical manufacturers in China. All of our member companies are committed to ensuring the highest quality standards in safety across every function in the value chain. This tragic incident in Tianjin is a reminder to the importance of the careful handling, distribution, and storage of chemical products. We advocate for health and safety standards to be uniformly applied and for offenders to be disciplined appropriately. The PCR Working Group is committed to following the latest developments in hazardous chemical management and will be following up with the relevant Government departments. We will be in close contact with the authorities to ensure that the affected area is tested for harmful residues in the aftermath of the incident, so as to protect the safety of our staff and operating partners. At present, member companies have not been significantly impacted by the blast, except for delays to export and import operations. We will monitor this situation closely, so as to advise our members accordingly.”
3. The European Chamber is monitoring the situation, but as everyone, we also only have the official information. Furthermore, we are looking at some links as additional sources of information and we are collecting input from our members. Please find these links in the annex.
4. Finally, please help us by providing recommendations on additional actions or sources of information that may be of interest to other members. We seek to leverage the knowledge and experience of our members to respond to your enquiries and concerns as soon as possible and to the best of our abilities.
Yours sincerely,
Jörg Wuttke Adam Dunnett Christoph Schrempp
President Secretary General Chairman of the Board
European Chamber European Chamber European Chamber, Tianjin Chapter
Annex
You may find additional sources of information through the links below: