2005 Jilin chemical plant explosions

Jilin Petrochemical Corporation

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Petrochemical
Headquarters	Jilin City , China
Parent	China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)

The Jilin chemical plant explosions took place on November 13, 2005, at the No.102 Petrochemical Plant located in Jilin City, Jilin Province, China. The blasts resulted in six deaths, numerous injuries, and led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

Explosions

Investigation conducted two days following the event revealed that a malfunction within the nitration section of the aniline processing unit caused the incident. Specifically, a blockage in the T-102 tower was not properly resolved. The forceful detonations broke windows up to 200 meters away, injuring over 70 individuals and causing six fatalities. Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames by early November 14.

Due to concerns about additional explosions and chemical hazards, more than 10,000 residents, including students from the northern campus of Beihua University and Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology, were evacuated. The facility is managed by Jilin Petrochemical Corporation, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which launched a high-level inquiry into the cause. Authorities dismissed terrorism as a factor, attributing the blasts to unresolved chemical blockages.

Emergency response was coordinated by local officials who arranged temporary lodging in hotels and restaurants while also deploying taxi services to facilitate evacuations.

Water pollution

The explosion discharged an estimated 100 tons of contaminants such as benzene and nitrobenzene into the Songhua River. Exposure to benzene is known to reduce red blood cell counts and is associated with increased risk of leukemia.

A toxic slick approximately 80 kilometers long moved downstream along the Amur River, with benzene concentrations measured at 108 times above national safety limits. This contamination spread through multiple counties in Jilin province including Songyuan, then entered Heilongjiang province impacting cities like Harbin, which relies heavily on the Songhua River for its water supply. The pollution continued into Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Oblast and Khabarovsk Krai, passing significant urban centers before reaching the Strait of Tartary.

Jilin Province

On November 13, water treatment facilities in Jilin city were shut down. Hydroelectric plants upstream increased their water discharge flows. By November 15, Songyuan halted use of water from the Songhua River; partial water suspensions were implemented by November 18 and fully restored by November 23.

Heilongjiang Province

Harbin, home to nearly ten million people dependent on the Songhua River, announced a four-day suspension of water supply beginning November 22 for maintenance purposes. Early initiation of this shutdown caused public alarm and panic buying of supplies amid widespread speculation regarding its cause. The presence of dead fish along the river further intensified public anxiety.

Authorities later confirmed that the shutdown was linked to the Jilin explosions and postponed its start to midnight on November 24. Water service was briefly restored on November 23 allowing residents to stockpile essentials. Schools were closed for one week, fire brigades provided emergency water supplies, and voluntary evacuations commenced.

The toxic slick reached Harbin before dawn on November 24. Nitrobenzene concentrations measured 16.87 times above safety thresholds initially and doubled to 33.15 times the following day before gradually decreasing. Benzene levels remained below hazardous limits throughout. Premier Wen Jiabao visited the affected area on November 26 to assess conditions.

In response, tens of thousands of metric tons of clean water alongside thousands of tons of activated carbon were transported into Harbin. The municipal government froze drinking water prices at levels set on November 20 to prevent price gouging and initiated drilling of ninety-five new deep-water wells to supplement existing sources. Fifteen hospitals prepared for potential chemical poisoning cases.

Other cities like Jiamusi, which rely more heavily on groundwater sources, initially maintained their water supply but shut down their primary treatment plant on December 2 and evacuated portions of their population. Tributaries including the Hulan River and Mudan River aided in diluting the contamination.

Water services in Harbin resumed on the evening of November 27.

Khabarovsk Krai

The pollution slick reached the Amur River on December 16 and arrived at the Russian city of Khabarovsk approximately four to five days afterward. A communication channel was set up between Chinese and Russian authorities, with China supplying water testing kits and purification materials, including 1,000 tons of activated carbon. In preparation for worst-case scenarios, Khabarovsk considered shutting down its water supply, leading residents to stockpile water.

Maritime pollution

Once the contaminants exited the Amur River, they flowed into the Strait of Tartary, subsequently spreading into the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan, impacting coastal areas of Japan, Korea, and Russia's Far East.

Political fall-out

Xie Zhenhua, who served as China's Minister of State Environmental Protection Administration, stepped down and was succeeded by Zhou Shengxian, the former head of the State Forestry Administration.

Criticism

Chinese media outlets criticized the handling of the incident by authorities. The operator of the implicated plant, Jilin Petrochemicals, initially denied any leakage of pollutants, asserting that only water and carbon dioxide were emitted. Media reports primarily concentrated on Harbin, with scant details about effects in Jilin province. Heilongjiang province responded a week after the explosions; their initial explanation for water supply interruption cited "maintenance," issuing just one day's notice before later revealing the true cause and postponing the shutdown. Jilin's Vice Governor Jiao Zhengzhong and CNPC Deputy General Manager Zeng Yukang traveled to Harbin to offer apologies. On December 6, Jilin’s vice-mayor Wang Wei was discovered dead following government warnings aimed at those who concealed the severity of the accident—though these warnings pertained only to the initial explosion and did not address the prolonged benzene slick cover-up.

See also

• Environment of China
• Pollution in China