Student dorm fumes 鈥榣ed to illness, death鈥
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.
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