12 firefighters among 44 killed in Tianjin explosions

A State-level rescue team against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons (NBC weapons) from Beijing left for Tianjin at 11:00 am on Thursday to help detect the fire, treat the injured, handle the hazardous chemicals, and maintain the order. The team consists of 214 officers and soldiers from Beijing military area

Tianjin has installed 12 temporary monitoring stations near the blast site in Binhai New Area to monitor the air quality after the series of explosions, in which some pollutants like toluene exceeded the national standards, Tianjin Daily reported.

The samples collected at 5:30 am on Thursday showed that the concentration of toluene,widely used as an industrial feedstock and as a solvent, has reached 3.7 milligrams per cubic meter in the air, higher than the national standard of 2.4 milligrams per cubic meter, the report said.

Besides, the concentration of volatile organic compounds and major air pollutants, were 5.7 milligrams per cubic meter, also exceeding the Tianjin municipal standards (2.0 milligrams per cubic meter).

But other major air pollutants under regular supervision like sulfur dioxide, carbon oxide, and PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter did not see a rise in concentrations as of 11 am).

The drainage outlet to the sea has been closed and the environmental authority is conducting an investigation into water quality, the report said.

---By taobao agent timtao.com