Environmental officials are warning the deaths from the explosion at the port of Tianjin may not end with the dousing of the fires that are still burning.
There are now fears that rain could release poisonous hydrogen cyanide into the air in the event of a heavy rain. Also, more explosions could be possible as many of the chemicals still at the site violently explode when they come into contact with water.
“If there is rain, it will produce hydrogen cyanide, so we are monitoring it closely,” Bao Jingling, chief engineer for the Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau told NBC News. He added the nation’s anti-chemical warfare military divisions are on site.
Scientists also have admitted that they have found sodium cyanide in the waters of Bohai Bay. Local officials say that they learned over 700 tons of sodium cyanide was stored at the site, 70 times the legal limit and that the chemicals had not been reported to Chinese customs officials.
The government has cleared a 1.8 mile area of the city with over 6,000 families forced from their homes.
The death toll from the blast has officially reached 114 and local rescuers say at least 90 people are still reported missing including many firefighters. One firefighter told the NY Times that he doesn’t know the fate of 25 men from his brigade and “no one told [his crew] the fire involved chemicals.”
Some fire experts are speculating that the water from the hoses of the fire crews came into contact with explosive chemicals, causing the massive second explosion that had the force of 21 tons of TNT.
A 40-year-old man was found alive in the debris on Saturday and is hospitalized. Thousands are now homeless because of the fire’s impact on surrounding buildings.
The city’s residents have taken to the streets to demand the government buy out their homes so they can begin a new life. They say the toxins from the explosion are likely much worse than the government will admit.