ginagawa na namang tanga mga tao by insisting that the explosion had been caused by the "septic tank-diesel tank" presence in the basement. there were even reports that police and army personnel had a squabble on whogets some pieces of evidence whereas this should be handled solely by the police investigators. tsk tsk tsk

the more issues like this comes up, the more suspicions on cover-up/whitewash is surfacing.

ot: Dr. W. Jose had been my prof. nakakatulog ako sa class nya.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=96707

'Makati blast not caused by methane-diesel mix'

[SIZE=2]Experts from the University of the Philippines-College of Engineering thumbed down on the theory that the blast last Friday at Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City was caused by chemical and gas leaks.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]Chemical engineering professors Ernesto dela Cruz and Wilfredo Jose, faculty members and students said it was unlikely that a leak from the tank containing thousands of liters of diesel at the mall's basement caused the blast.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]The engineers said diesel is not a volatile substance and will not explode as a liquid at any rate. They said it has to be in a gaseous state and has to vaporize before it can explode.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]They said that for diesel to vaporize, it has to be heated to up to more than 200 degrees Celsius inside an engine.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Dela Cruz, Jose and the others also said that it would also be impossible that methane gas that allegedly leaked from the mall's septic tank caused the blast.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]The experts, however, said that methane will explode only if ignited. They said a mixture of five to 15 percent methane and 85 percent oxygen may explode but only if it set on fire.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]They added that the mixture should contain a substantial amount of chemical components to reach a blast magnitude similar to the one at the mall on Friday afternoon.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]The professors said they doubt that there was enough methane inside the Glorietta 2 sewer to fuel the explosion that reached up to the building's roof three stories from the basement.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]They also said that the rate of reaction would have to be quick to attain an explosion with impact. There should also have been a bad odor, much like that of rotten eggs, if the cause of the blast was indeed methane gas.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Dela Cruz and Jose added that it would be impossible to have a chain reaction between methane and diesel. They said such a reaction could have resulted to a fire but not an explosion.[/SIZE]