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Gas leak kills 21 workers in northern China

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | January 8, 2010 at 04:45 am

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China is an emerging economy and is often taunted for its negligent production of toys that are produced for Western companies. Led in paint and other violations are often quoted.

Labour Laws that are either no existent or not enforced and industrial accidents are still much too common and often result in cover ups in fear of retribution by the Chinese government.

Earlier this week executives of a factory in northern China were caught under reporting the result of a gas leak. Initially executives had reported that 16 workers had been poisoned as a result of the accident and 7 had died.

The executives have now confessed that the accident actually killed 21 workers, after a gas pipeline leaked at the Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel Company.

Workplace accidents are common in China and the government has been strict in executing the full force of the law on executives caught cheating.

This recent accident, in all likelihood, will result in some executives being sentenced to death.

Workplace safety needs to take a higher priority in China.

BEIJING — State media says 21 workers were killed by a gas leak at a factory in northern China earlier this week after executives were caught underreporting the number of deaths.

The Xinhua News Agency says workers were poisoned after a gas pipeline broke at the Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel Co. Monday in Handan city in northern Hebei province.

The Friday report says company officials initially said 16 workers were poisoned and seven died while nine were sent to a hospital.

It says senior executives "confessed" late Thursday that they covered up the death toll.

Calls to the local government office and Puyang company rang unanswered Friday.

Workplace accidents are common in China with thousands dying every year.

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Barbara McPherson

at 09:00 on January 8th, 2010

Workers safety is certainly an issue for the PRC. There is no effective worker compensation for those injured on the job. This is all part of the "China Price" that is built into our cheap Chinese imports.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 09:10 on January 8th, 2010

Yes and the sad part is that it is exploited by corporations like Walmart.

stejeb

at 10:16 on January 8th, 2010

It's all about cheap, and shortcuts. In the world outside China, we all bemoan the loss of jobs, as Chinese imports undercut any price we put on items, and companies relocate their production to China and other countries with similar labour and production costs.

Let's face it, if our collective, respective governments hadn't already sold our countries' souls to the Chinese bankers, we could be whacking massive import taxes on them, and automatically rejecting anything substandard....before it hits the high street shops, and our children!