China's Tianjin requires plants to report daily in beefed-up safety oversight

Xinhua News Agency

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The instruction follows a fatal warehouse explosion in the city in August.

Since the incident, more than 1,000 chemical plants have installed surveillance cameras to monitor potential hazards. They must also report to the local work safety watchdog everyday about the operation of their equipment, said Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo.

The city has also divided its chemical factories into three types. Plants tagged blue can operate as usual, those tagged yellow have been issued a warning or suspended to remove potential hazards, while those tagged red are ordered to shut down or relocate.

The mayor added that work will begin this year to relocate two major chemical plants from densely populated areas to a remote industrial park, at a total costs of 30 billion yuan.

Huang said these new work safety measures will be applied to all sectors.

He added the city has bought all the homes that were destroyed during the August warehouse incident and all displaced residents have been relocated.

The city is also building schools around the site of the explosions, which is being made into a park that will open in 2017. The soil is being processed and will be ready for tree planting later this year.