ABSTRACT
The Donghuang II pipeline is owned by China’s largest refining company, China Petrochemical Corp., also called Sinopec Group. Subsequent nationwide pipeline safety check found similar corrosion problems throughout the nation’s pipeline network. Energy pipeline networks and cities are expanding rapidly, which brings them closer to one another. The direct cause of the explosion was the ignition of vapors produced from oil leaking from a corroded underground pipeline when workers used a hydraulic hammer that was not explosion-proof, resulting in sparks that triggered the blast. On Friday, November 22, 2013, the Donghuang II oil pipeline suddenly exploded in Qingdao in eastern China, ripping roads and sidewalks apart, turning cars over, and sending thick black smoke over the city. The blast killed 62 people and injured 136; it was China’s deadliest spill since the benzene oil spill in the Songhua River in 2005. The incident led to stoppages in electricity and water in nearby areas.
