Refinery toxic gas leak posed no danger,city offical insist

FOUL-SMELLING air that concerned residents in the city's Pudong New Area and Yangpu and Hongkou districts late Tuesday was not harmful to people's health, the municipal government insisted yesterday.

Officials blamed the smell on a gas leak on Tuesday afternoon from an oil refinery belonging to the Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co in Pudong's Waigaoqiao area.

This was found to contain toxic ethanethiol, according to the official statement. The ethanethiol dissipated safely into the atmosphere at around 4pm, said officials.

However, the pungent smell lingered around the factory until 9:30pm.

It disappeared late that night, said Cai Weimin, an official with the Shanghai Administration of Work Safety. "And there were no more reports of the smell from residents yesterday."

However, Cai said he did not know what caused the leak and how the problem was solved.

The official statement released yesterday also said that an investigation is under way.

An insider from the administration told Shanghai Daily yesterday that refinery facilities were undergoing an annual check and clean on Tuesday. Normally residue substances are removed before vessels can be cleaned. He speculated that ethanethiol might have been exposed directly to the air during the cleaning process.

Ethanethiol has a strong smell, resembling leeks or onions.

Fan Kangnian, a chemistry professor with Fudan University, said it is very pungent, even in small quantities. "It can have negative effects on both humans and the environment."

Exposure to ethanethiol can lead to headaches, nausea, breathing difficulties or vomiting.

Zhang Qi, a salesman who lives near the site, said he did not notice any smell. "It was late when I came home and the smell had already gone."

In September 2008, 300 kilograms of liquid herbicide leaked from the Shanghai Pesticide Factory in Pudong New Area. Two people were rushed to hospital after inhaling fumes.

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No worries over air quality after blaze, officials say

OFFICIALS from the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau reassured residents yesterday that the deadly fire at a high-rise on Jiaozhou Road on Monday did not seriously affect air quality.

The area around the building suffered seven hours of heavy air pollution before improving to levels found in other districts at about 10pm on Monday, said Wei Huajun, director of the bureau's pollution control department.

"We have a 24-hour automatic air quality monitoring spot about 1 kilometer from the building," Wei said. "We closely monitored changes to the air quality index after the fire."

Officials said a strong wind on Monday helped disperse the smoke.

Air quality in the city was good on Monday. It was excellent, the highest on a five-level scale, yesterday, according to the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center.

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New cold front brings lower temperatures and dust to city

SHANGHAI should get colder this week with the latest in a wave of cold fronts arriving. However, the hazy sky that cast a shadow over the city at the weekend is expected to lessen over the next few days.

The latest cold front from northwestern China brought drizzle and reduced temperatures by four degrees Celsius yesterday and its effect is forecast to get stronger today and tomorrow, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.

Temperatures are expected to drop six to eight degrees during the next 48 hours and the minimum could be nine degrees tomorrow and Wednesday, the lowest this week, the bureau said.

"There will be some ups and downs in temperatures while the cold front is here," said Xu Jiye, a chief service officer of the bureau. He advised locals to be aware of the fluctuations in temperature.

Despite lower temperatures, the weather is expected to improve this week. It will be sunny with some clouds - no rain has been forecast.

With more northeast winds, the hazy sky over the weekend should brighten today, the bureau said.

"The sky will clear with the passing of the cold front and the weather should be cloudy to fine over the coming three days," said Xu.

The weather bureau also said the recent hazy and smoggy sky was not actually haze, but was caused by the dust carried in with the cold front from the north.

As a result, experts from the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center said the air quality this week won't improve significantly.

This month, Shanghai has experienced six polluted days, four of which occurred last week.

The environmental monitoring center reported slightly °?polluted days last Monday and yesterday, medium polluted on Friday and a seriously polluted day on?Saturday.

Saturday was only the second day classified as seriously polluted, the lowest in a five-level scale with one being the best, this year, the other was on March 21. The main reason is sand brought in by cold fronts from the north, which is currently experiencing a large-scale sandstorm.

As well as this, dust from construction sites, which have reopened now that the World Expo has ended, and hay burning also caused a deterioration in air quality.

"November is always the month with the poorest air quality in the city," said Wang Qian from the environmental monitoring center. "The record is 12 polluted days in November. The public should be aware of this and take health precautions."

Today is forecast to be drizzly and cloudy with temperatures ranging from a low of 11 degrees to a high of 15. The sky will be cloudy tomorrow and the temperatures should be between nine degrees low and 16 high. The air quality is forecast as good.

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