NFPA Journal - May/June 2019 - 27

and dust. Further analysis of the area
around the Tower is necessary to
understand potential health risk."
The study goes on to draw parallels
between the Grenfell Tower fire and
the September 11, 2001, attacks on the
World Trade Center in New York City,
from which first responders, cleanup
workers, and others continue to die
of cancer linked to the chemicals that
were present in the debris of Ground
Zero. In the two years following the
Grenfell Tower fire, those living in the
area have complained of symptoms
including vomiting, coughing up blood,
skin abnormalities, and difficulty
breathing, according to BBC News. The
government maintains the health risk
from the chemicals is "generally very
low," the BBC reported.
The size and speed of the fire that
destroyed Grenfell were attributed to
flammable plastics present in exterior
wall components that had been added
to the tower as part of a renovation
project in 2016. An NFPA Journal story
published following the fire found
that similar conditions likely exist in
many buildings around the world. In
response to the blaze, NFPA released a
number of resources to help stem the
worldwide problem of fires involving
combustible exterior wall components.
Access these resources and download the full UCLan study at nfpa.org/
dispatches.

Yancheng, China
Chemical explosion is the latest
industrial disaster to hit China
On March 21, an explosion at a chemical plant in the city of Yancheng in
eastern China killed over 60 people,
injured more than 600 others, and
set off a toxic inferno that firefighters
struggled to contain. According to
Chinese media reports, the explosion
occurred after a truck carrying natural
gas caught fire, and the flames reached
an area where the flammable chemical
benzene was stored.
The incident was the latest in a series
of industrial explosions and fires that
have plagued the country for years. In
November 2018, explosions killed 23
people at a chemical manufacturing

plant in Zhangjiakou. In 2015, a number
of notable industrial explosions and
fires occurred, the most significant
being a blast at a chemical warehouse
in the port city of Tianjin in August,
which killed 165 people. In the weeks
following the recent blast in Yancheng,
two more industrial explosions in the
country killed at least 11 people.
"Public anger over safety standards has grown in China after three
decades of swift economic growth
has been marred by accidents ranging
from mining disasters to factory fires,"
Reuters reported. "China has vowed
to improve industrial standards, but
environmentalists say they fear oversight weaknesses persist, including an
opaque production process for hazardous chemicals."

Latin America
Upcoming C&E in San Antonio will
feature talks given in Spanish
The 2019 NFPA Conference & Expo
(C&E) will feature nine education sessions delivered in Spanish. It's the first
time Spanish education sessions have
been such a prominent feature of C&E.
Each talk will be given by a fire safety
professional from Latin America on
topics ranging from protecting historic
buildings, museums, and libraries from
fire to the development of codes and
standards in Latin America.
As attendance by Latin American
professionals to C&E has grown over
the years, it became clear there was a
need to expand on events that would
be of particular interest to them, said
Gabriela Mazal, manager of international development at NFPA. "The goal
is to pilot it this year with a limited
number of sessions but grow it as we
move forward," she said.
This year's C&E takes place in in San
Antonio, Texas, June 17-20. For a full list
of education sessions, visit nfpa.org/
conference and click on the "education" tab.

MOUNTING ANGER
Relatives look for a missing worker at the site of a pesticide
plant that exploded and burned in Yancheng, China, in March.
More than 60 people died in the incident and an estimated
600 were injured.

N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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NFPA Journal - May/June 2019

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