In Spite of a Favorable Market, Mass Opposition to the PX Chemical

COVER STORY

PX Chemical Industry ANASTY NECESSITY In spite of a favorable market, mass opposition to the PX chemical industry, exacerbated by a string of accidents, has embarrassed manufacturers and stunted growth By Wang Yan

araxylene (PX), a flammable liquid Department at Xiamen University, who unit- necessity, and that the country needs to learn used in the production of polyester ed over 100 members of the Chinese People’s to live with heavy industry. During a recent and other plastics, has become al- Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) interview, Professor Lin Boqiang with Xia- Pmost a household name in China since 2007. behind a petition to halt the Xiamen PX men University told NewsChina that it is im- That year, citizens of the coastal resort town project, stated that “PX is a dangerous chemi- possible for any chemical plant not to cause of Xiamen were credited with taking NIM- cal product with high carcinogenicity.” environmental pollution. However, he added BYism mainstream in China after demon- Most professionals in the field of chemical that “it is not reasonable for the general pub- strations halted construction on a PX plant engineering have called for calm, claiming lic to be so afraid [of PX],” claiming that “due in the city’s downtown area, forcing the local that PX is not as “terribly toxic” as publicly to first-rate domestic technology and indus- government to relocate the project to neigh- perceived. According to the US Agency for trial conditions, pollution is currently kept at boring Zhangzhou. Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, short- a level acceptable to human health.” Since then, the further construction of PX term exposure to high levels of paraxylene However, the trend to construct such plants has proven resolutely contentious in (PX) can cause irritation to the skin, eyes, controversial plants close to human habita- China. Some proposed plants have encoun- nose, and throat, as well as breathing difficul- tion remains a major source of controversy. tered similarly strong public opposition and ties. Long-term exposure is believed to possi- According to Yuan Dongxing, professor in protests, including in the city of Dalian in bly cause harmful effects to the liver, kidneys environmental toxicology at Xiamen Univer- August 2011, Ningbo in October 2012, and and the central nervous system. Yet both the sity, the linear distance between the average Maoming in April 2014. The other harsh re- International Agency for Research on Cancer PX plant and its nearest city is kept at more ality, however, is that even as opposition has (IARC) and EPA have found that there is in- than 70 kilometers in other Asian markets, increased, China’s demand for PX has been sufficient information to determine whether including South Korea and Taiwan, but on growing steadily, with domestic production or not paraxylene is carcinogenic and have the Chinese mainland this distance is cut to only able to meet less than 50 percent of the thus yet to classify the chemical as such. within 20 kilometers. country’s needs. Cao Xianghong, academician with the While further research has proved that China Academy of Engineering and chief no legislation, either in China or elsewhere, Controversy engineer at the State-owned oil giant Sinopec specifies the distance that should be main- PX as a chemical compound is popularly said during an interview with China Central tained between chemical plants and human perceived as being carcinogenic, with air- Television (CCTV) in 2013 that PX was a settlements, activists do not see this as an borne exposure linked with harmful side ef- chemical substance of “low toxicity,” claim- excuse to construct such projects close to fects. Once the Xiamen PX project was pub- ing that its most dangerous property was its residential areas. According to an article in licly announced in 2003, the view that PX high inflammability, with PX vapor’s propen- Caixin Weekly, some large international PX is toxic aroused heated debate in cyberspace, sity to explode on contact with a naked flame projects are constructed close to communi- leading to calls for the project to be located already well-documented. ties, with the author citing Exxon Mobil’s PX well away from human settlements. Others have simply stated that more plant and its affiliated manufactory in South- Zhao Yufen, professor from the Chemistry chemical plants in China are an unavoidable ampton, UK, which is only 100 meters away

22 NEWSCHINA I June 2015 from the closest private residence. In Ohio, a PX plant owned by Sunoco is located two kilometers from its closest town, while the PX plant on Jurong Island in Singapore is located four kilometers from nearby residences. Insufficiency Since 2009, when China injected a stimu- lus package of 4 trillion yuan (US$570bn) into its economy to offset the effects of the financial crisis, the country’s production capacities in textiles, polyester, PTA and PX have all expanded considerably. In 2000, China’s PX self-sufficiency rate stood at 88 percent. However, as China became the world’s largest consumer of the chemical in

2012, the situation has changed, with annual by Xinhua Photo demand for PX surging that year to about Officials attend the launch of the PX chemical project in Xiamen’s Haicang District, 13.85 million tons despite total production November 17, 2006 capacity of less than 8.8 million tons. Around 30 million tons of PX is produced globally each year, more than half of which is con- sumed by the Chinese industrial sector. In 2014, the country imported a total of 9.91 million tons of PX, an increase of 10.16 percent on the previous year, with the bulk of its supply coming from South Korea (37.8 percent), Japan (19.2 percent) and Taiwan (14.3 percent). “From both an industrial and a market perspective, China’s PX industry is facing an embarrassing situation,” an anonymous industry insider told the Changjiang Times. The same source claimed that China’s status as the world’s top producer and exporter of textiles and growing demand for synthetic materials had caused demand for PX to surge. Li Runsheng, deputy chairman of the China Petrol and Chemistry Industry Fed- eration, believes that the country’s PX supply Photo by Xinhua Photo problem is a direct result of opposition to Some 100 Xiamen residents invited to take part in a two-day symposium on the environmental new plants. The government and enterprises impact of the potential PX project to be built in Xiamen, December 2007 are both tiptoeing around decisions related to the chemical, approving or postponing projects according to the public response. While, having afforded it status as a strategic sions in Gulei [Fujian] will impede construc- the chemical, threatening the long-term de- resource, the Chinese government wishes to tion of new PX projects in China, and the velopment of the low-profit Chinese PTA maintain a robust domestic supply of PX, the future of the industry is not optimistic,” and textile industries. visceral public response to new plants has sty- the anonymous source told the Changjiang The price of PX is already edging upwards. mied development of the industry. Times. Industry figures are warning that a On the Asian markets, the average price in- “It is certain that the two PX plant explo- further fall in supply will drive up prices for creased by 5 percent in a single day on April

NEWSCHINA I June 2015 23 COVER STORY

PX Production Capacity Distribution in China (Unit: 10,000 tons)

CNPC Urumqi Petrochemical Co. Qingdao Lidong Chemical Co. Dalian Fujia Dahua CNPC Tianjin Petrochemical Co. 100 39 100 Petrochemical Co. 140

Sinopec Luoyang Petrochemical CNPC Qilu Petrochemical Co. CNPC Liaoyang Co. Petrochemical Co. 7 100 70

Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Co. 85

Sinopec Jinling Petrochemical Co. 70

Sinopec Zhenhai Sinopec Shanghai Refining & Chemical Co. Petrochemical Co. 85 65

CNPC Pengzhou Petrochemical Co. CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Sinopec Fujian 65 Corporation) Huizhou Refining Ethylene Integrated Project Sinopec Hainan Petrochemical Co. Dragon Aromatic Petrochemical Co. 84 Hydrocarbon Co., Ltd 80 60 160 (Source: oilchem.net)

7, 2015 while the cost, insurance and freight large potential domestic market for PX as an output. By contrast, according to industry (CIF) price for PX in China has increased opportunity to undercut their beleaguered data, some 10 million tons of PX production by US$54 per ton to US$880, a 5.4 percent Chinese rivals. capacity will have been constructed, mostly jump. So far, a total of 16 PX projects and 21 in countries bordering China by 2015. South Li Li, research director with ICIS Energy, a sets of refinery hardware exist in China, Korea alone is set to increase its total annual Shanghai-based energy consultancy respond- most under the control of the two State oil output to 5.2 million tons, almost double ed to questions from China Daily reporters, giants, China National Petroleum Corp and China’s current production. claiming that the explosions at the plant in Sinopec Group. These two State-owned en- Gulei might cause the suspension of produc- terprises account for around 80 percent of Breaking the Ice tion, resulting in a further squeeze on the do- China’s total PX capacity, and 10 new PX PX plants, like nuclear power plants, re- mestic market. projects are currently scheduled for produc- quire huge volumes of water to function and Some foreign enterprises have eyed China’s tion, which will add 8 million tons of annual transport their product, and are thus typical-

24 NEWSCHINA I June 2015 PX Industry in China

ly built in coastal regions or along big rivers (less than $31,000). close to economically developed cities with “In Western countries, individuals can large populations. initiate litigation against polluters, and their But as environmental pollution caused by victims can receive considerable compensa- heavy industry continues to threaten public tion through legal means,” Professor Lin told health in China, popular protest, usually a NewsChina. “In China, no such channels ex- rarity in the country, has become a hallmark ist.” of any new industrial development situated China’s “embarrassing” failure to balance its close to residential areas. Moreover, PX re- industrial need for PX with the needs of urban fineries have shown to be notorious for ex- communities is not caused by PX itself, but a plosions and fires; even before the recent PX lack of government transparency and a failure plant explosion in Zhangzhou, fires were re- to assuage public distrust on behalf of busi- ported at PX refineries in Huizhou, Dalian, nesses and local authorities. As things stand, Liaoyang and Shanghai. local communities are completely excluded Despite the question mark over its toxic- from the decision making process, with gov- Production Output ity, the impact of PX plants on general envi- ernments keen to secure better GDP figures ronmental pollution is largely dependent on backing industrial projects while making ev- Import government supervision and the willingness ery effort to silence dissenting public voices. Export of enterprises to maintain safety standards. Even when officials give in to public pressure, While some may operate responsibly, the the eleventh-hour cancellation of such proj- (Source: oilchem.net) proximity to human habitation and major ects is a wasteful and avoidable outcome. waterways means just one disaster could have To break this deadlock, experts are calling massive ramifications for entire swaths of the for improvements to the government man- country (see “Toxic Time Bomb,” NewsChi- agement system, environmental supervision na, October 2010, Vol. 026). and legal protection. The technology adopted in China’s PX “The government should not lightly aban- industry in China is reported by insiders as don a promising project, but instead openly being state-of-the-art, but implementing ad- and actively communicate with the general ditional environmental protection measures public on issues relating to PX production, inevitably raises costs. “The real problem lies including punitive action and compensation with supervision,” commented Professor Lin in the event of an accident,” Lin told News- Boqiang. “Setting standards, reinforcing en- China. He added that the “reasonable distri- vironmental protection law and regulations bution and layout” of PX projects across the and enforcing them can be effective in pre- country is “necessary,” with the key being to venting further accidents.” avoid concentrating too much production In many Western countries, the poor man- capacity in a single area. agement or construction of chemical plants, China’s industrial development requires a if discovered, typically incurs stiff penalties, healthy supply of PX. In such cases, in China with compensation for pollution or other at least, the interests of industry typically damage to residential areas often astronomi- trump those of the general public. However, cally high. In China, however, even major in- unless manufacturers and the government dustrial accidents often result in tiny fines for can confront trust issues head-on, anyone Photo by ic Photo the companies involved. For example, a mas- seeking to build a PX plant in China, par- People wearing masks gather to oppose the sive oil spill from offshore wells operated by ticularly given the recent explosions in Gu- construction of a PX plant by China National ConocoPhillips in China’s Bohai Bay area in lei, faces a long, protracted battle with the Petroleum Corp (CNPC) in Kunming, Yunnan 2011 only resulted in fines of 200,000 yuan public. Province, May 4, 2013

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