600 villagers hit by lead poisoning
Source: Xinhua |
June 15, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
YANG Xingshu has been suffering from headaches for years, but only after a blood test did he realize that they are likely caused by a high level of lead in his blood.
The 42-year-old migrant worker has spent more than 10 years working in a tinfoil processing workshop in Yangxunqiao Town in Shaoxing County, eastern China's Zhejiang Province.
"In the last few years, I've felt weak and got sick easily," he explained.
Preliminary medical tests showed that Yang is suffering from severe lead poisoning with 764 gammas of lead per liter of blood. According to the national diagnosis standard, a normal level should be below 100 gammas per liter.
Blood lead levels above 700 per liter is serious lead poisoning. Excessive amounts of lead in the body harms the nervous and reproductive systems and can cause high blood pressure and anemia. It can also lead to convulsions, coma and death.
But Yang is not the only victim. More than 600 people, including 103 children, from 25 family-run tinfoil processing workshops in Yangxunqiao suffer from lead poisoning, according to local health authorities.
Among the children, 18-month-old Ran Boyi appears thinner and more sluggish than his peers. His blood lead level is 553 gammas per liter.
A tinfoil processing worker from the city of Yibin in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, Yang moved to the small town to seek fortune. "I have really made some money from this work," Yang said. "I could earn more than 3,000 yuan (US$463) a month."
Several years ago, Yang-xunqiao tinfoil workshops started to bring in new technology that cut the processing time and consumed less tin.
"Owners of workshops were eager to pursue low-cost tinfoil at the expense of their health by using lead, which is a cheaper but poisonous metal," said Huang Miaofeng, owner of a tinfoil processing workshop in Zhitanghu Village of Yangxunqiao.
Lack of safety knowledge has meant owners, workers, as well as their families, are exposed to lead in family-run workshops. "I never expected it would bring such misfortune," Huang said.
Chen Shuirong, village chief of Zhitanghu Village, said this is a made-man problem. He said his grandfather was a tinfoil worker and, although he's in his 80s, remains in good health.
"If they used traditional technology, as my grandfather did, they wouldn't get lead poisoning," Chen said.
The 42-year-old migrant worker has spent more than 10 years working in a tinfoil processing workshop in Yangxunqiao Town in Shaoxing County, eastern China's Zhejiang Province.
"In the last few years, I've felt weak and got sick easily," he explained.
Preliminary medical tests showed that Yang is suffering from severe lead poisoning with 764 gammas of lead per liter of blood. According to the national diagnosis standard, a normal level should be below 100 gammas per liter.
Blood lead levels above 700 per liter is serious lead poisoning. Excessive amounts of lead in the body harms the nervous and reproductive systems and can cause high blood pressure and anemia. It can also lead to convulsions, coma and death.
But Yang is not the only victim. More than 600 people, including 103 children, from 25 family-run tinfoil processing workshops in Yangxunqiao suffer from lead poisoning, according to local health authorities.
Among the children, 18-month-old Ran Boyi appears thinner and more sluggish than his peers. His blood lead level is 553 gammas per liter.
A tinfoil processing worker from the city of Yibin in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, Yang moved to the small town to seek fortune. "I have really made some money from this work," Yang said. "I could earn more than 3,000 yuan (US$463) a month."
Several years ago, Yang-xunqiao tinfoil workshops started to bring in new technology that cut the processing time and consumed less tin.
"Owners of workshops were eager to pursue low-cost tinfoil at the expense of their health by using lead, which is a cheaper but poisonous metal," said Huang Miaofeng, owner of a tinfoil processing workshop in Zhitanghu Village of Yangxunqiao.
Lack of safety knowledge has meant owners, workers, as well as their families, are exposed to lead in family-run workshops. "I never expected it would bring such misfortune," Huang said.
Chen Shuirong, village chief of Zhitanghu Village, said this is a made-man problem. He said his grandfather was a tinfoil worker and, although he's in his 80s, remains in good health.
"If they used traditional technology, as my grandfather did, they wouldn't get lead poisoning," Chen said.
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