Nearly 1,000 Chinese children poisoned by metal plants
By Emma Graham-Harrison and Lucy Hornby BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Nearly 1,000 children living in a major Chinese lead smelting base have excessive levels of the heavy metal in their blood, state media said on Tuesday, as environmentalists called on firms to detail their pollution. The country’s biggest smelter has acknowledged some responsibility in the poisoning in central Henan province, and all children whose homes were within a kilometre of metal plants have been moved, the official Xinhua agency said. “We do bear responsibility for the pollution,” Xinhua quoted Yang Anguo, board chairman of Yuguang Gold and Lead (600531.SS) as saying. “Some pollution has accumulated over the past 20 years or more and the plant is too near homes.” Health officials in Jiyuan city decided to test children under 14 after a series of other scandals in metal producing areas of neighbouring Shaanxi province. Of 2,743 who were checked, more than one-third had excessive lead in their blood. The city government has suspended production at 32 of the 35 lead plants, and on the most polluting production lines at the three major plants, Xinhua said. Environmental campaign group Greenpeace on Tuesday slammed 18 major Chinese and international companies for failing to publish their pollution levels, in violation of environmental laws. … “Mass incidents” — or riots and protests — sparked by environmental problems have been rising at a rate of 30 percent per year, according to China’s environment minister. …
