Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

A massive aquarium that burst on December 18 in a shopping center on Nanjing Road East that injured 15 people has raised people's concerns about the safety of aquariums in public places.

The most seriously injured was a man in his 30s who suffered broken bones in his leg hit by falling glass, while the other injured suffered bruises and cuts. Three sharks, raised in the aquarium, died in the accident.

The 33.5-ton aquarium was built on the wall of the first floor of the Orient Shopping Center in September 2010 as an attraction with sharks, turtles and other sea creatures. The 7-meter long and 3-meter-high aquarium was supposed to add some "aqua elements" to the concrete jungle of Shanghai and entertain passersby who walk past the shopping center.

We can often see aquariums in public places such as restaurants, bars and even metro stations. But if they burst, these aquariums can threaten people's lives.

Although no one died in this incident, tragedies may happen if we neglect the safety issue around aquariums in public places.

Most aquariums are made of acrylic glass. According to industry insiders, apart from using qualified material, the thickness of aquariums must be precisely calculated, said local news reports. The aquariums should also be properly installed, the insiders said.

Employees with the shopping center said that 12 centimeters is a suitable thickness for the acrylic glass used in the aquarium, but the shopping mall used 15 centimeters qualified acrylic glass nonetheless in order to ensure safety.

So how come the aquarium still burst? The official investigation showed that ultraviolet radiation and changing temperatures damaged the acrylic glass over time. And the acrylic glass had become brittle and fractured because of the cold temperatures, said Shen Weizhong, deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Work Safety.

Acrylic glass is a widely used material across different industries and there are various grades of the glass at different prices. People at the industry said aquariums require a higher quality of acrylic glass, according to local news reports.

However, currently there are national standards on acrylic glass for industrial use but not for aquariums. Many companies use substandard acrylic glass in order to reduce costs but it poses potential dangers to people around the aquariums.

I strongly feel that detailed regulations concerning the aquarium material should be made to prevent such accidents in future. Companies which want to install large aquariums in public places should be required to first apply to the related authorities. Then, professional accrediting organizations can examine whether the aquariums meet safety standards before the aquariums are installed in public places.

In this case, the aquarium burst not because it was made of substandard material but because the material deteriorated over time, which was not realized by its owner. Therefore, even though the aquarium met the standards when it was built, its owner should have carried out regular safety examinations and maintenance.

At the same time, the related authorities should be responsible for increasing supervision and conducting more safety checks on aquariums.