Student dorm fumes ‘led to illness, death’
Print Edition
A UNIVERSITY in east China’s Zhejiang Province has been accused of exposing students to formaldehyde fumes, and claims that this led to some contracting serious diseases with at least one fatality.
Parents and students say Zhejiang Normal University forced students to stay in recently decorated dormitories which still smelled strongly of formaldehyde, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.
Formaldehyde, which can cause cancer and other health problems, is used in building in household materials.
In China, householders often wait three months before moving into a newly decorated home to let formaldehyde fumes disperse. But in this case, students reportedly moved in 13 days after decorating work in 2011.
According to online posts by parents and students, of 1,054 students who stayed in the dorms then, around 20 developed serious health issues.
These included immune system disorders and problems with joints, the lungs, blood and respiratory system, they said.
One student who stayed in the dorm is said to have died of leukemia in October.
Zhejiang Normal University denied claims that there were excessive levels of formaldehyde, saying work in the dorms met standards, the paper reported.
“There is no evidence to show the connection between the decorating work and illnesses,” a secretary of the university construction department said.
One mother, surnamed Xie, said her daughter, surnamed Gong, became pale and weak after moving into the dorm.
In March last year, doctors found that her immune system was damaged, the paper reported. She also has chronic inflammation of the spine, and nodules in her lungs, Gong’s mother said.
Gong’s three roommates developed similar conditions, Xie said, claiming that they had all been “poisoned.”
On October 4, Xie posted on popular online forum tianya .com stating that 21-year-old Huang Lisha, who became ill with leukemia during her stay in dorm, had died that morning.
Xie also said that another student now had a serious autoimmune disease, while another had contracted cancer of the nose.
Pictures of some of the women’s hospital records were posted on the Weibo microblog.
The local authorities have not given any response.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
