1 killed, 9 injured in east China chemical plant blast

One person was killed and nine others were injured after a blast ripped through a chemical plant in east China's Shandong Province on Saturday night, local authorities said on Sunday morning. The explosion occurred at Shandong Runxing Chemical Technology Co. Ltd at 8:56 p.m. in Dongfu Village, Huantai County after a separator in the plant caught fire, according to the county government's publicity office. The fire was put out at around 1:50 a.m. on Sunday, it said. Zhuo Hongqin, a worker at the factory, said the explosion shattered the windows of her room and the roof also collapsed. The explosion also damaged nearby houses. A villager said his face was cut by the shattered glass. The city government urged all the enterprises that produce, store and use chemicals to enhance their safety standards. The environmental protection departments of both Zibo City and Huantai County said they have not detected any contamination after the blast. The cause of the fire is still being investigated. With a registered capital of 200 million yuan (31.3 million US dollars), the Shandong Runxing Chemical Technology Co. Ltd is a subsidiary of Shandong's Runxing Group. The privately-owned company was set up in 2012. The plant was during the phase of trial production after the construction work of it was completed in July. It produces chemicals, mainly adiponitrile, a colorless liquid that can give off toxic fumes after exposed to heat. The factory's annual production capacity of adiponitrile is 100,000 tonnes. The blast came 10 days after the warehouse explosions in north China's Tianjin Municipality that have left 123 people dead and 50 missing.