Chinese authorities have assured Tianjin residents that the air and seawater in the city has not been contaminated by dangerous chemicals after a large warehouse filled with hazardous chemicals blew up on Wednesday.

Xinhua reported that Tianjin environmental bureau chief Wen Wurui announced that the air quality in the city's port, where the blast occurred, appears to be normal.

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On Thursday afternoon, authorities confirmed that air tests one kilometer from the blast site contained a high concentration of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. However, two kilometers from the explosion, the dangerous gasses could not be found.

Tianjin local government has more than a dozen sites dedicated to measuring and reporting on the air quality around the city, at least five sites are also responsible for checking on the city's water supply.

In the early hours of Thursday, authorities detected the presence of cancer-causing gases in the city, but below levels that could be considered dangerous to humans.

Meanwhile, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) has announced that tests have shown no signs of abnormality in Taijin's seawater.

However, Greenpeace, an environmental watchdog, has warned that certain chemicals that were stored in the port could pose serious health risks to people living in the city.

One such material is cyanide, which is toxic to humans. Some of the chemicals such as calcium carbide have an unpleasant chemical reaction when mixed with water.

Greenpeace said exposure or skin contact with the hazardous materials will put firefighters and rescue workers at risk.

At the moment, SOA has obtained almost 200 samples taken from various sea areas in and around the Tianjin port. The government agency said it will take further samples and report immediately if any anomalies are found.

Almost 100,000 city residents are located inside a five-kilometer radius of the explosions.

Local work safety regulators said representatives of the companies, who stored hazardous materials in the port, had been notified of the need to adopt safety precautions in their warehouses.

The warehouse that caused the explosion is owned by the Tanjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International company and its officers have been placed under arrest.

Tagstianjin port explosion, tianjin dongjiang port rui hai, tianjin blast, tianjin firefighters, tianjin environment, tianjin air and water, state oceanic administration, tianjin seawater