Parents demand answers in China lead poisoning
By Royston Chan
GAOHE, China | Fri Jan 7, 2011 3:42am EST
GAOHE, China (Reuters) - Parents of children poisoned by lead in eastern China are demanding answers and compensation from the government after the country's latest incident of heavy metal pollution made more than 200 sick.
Authorities in Gaohe in eastern Anhui province have closed two battery plants blamed for the poisoning just a stone's throw from residences in contravention of planning laws, according to state media.
Some of the children affected are just a few months old.
"Children are precious to us. You tell me what I can do. I don't have many requests. The government has to stand up and give the children some answers and help," said 48-year-old Li Xiaoai, grandmother of three-year-old Jiang Shuangchao.
She said her granddaughter was found to have 245 micrograms of lead per liter of blood, and displayed symptoms of lead poisoning such as lack of appetite and fatigue.
Levels of more than 100 micrograms of lead per liter of blood are considered to be harmful and residents said most of the children in the community tested above those levels.
"I can't just leave the child at home and let her die," Li told Reuters.
Poisoning cases involving children are especially sensitive in China following a scandal in 2008 when at least six children died and nearly 300,000 became ill from drinking powdered milk laced with the industrial compound, melamine.
China set up a compensation fund for children whose health was seriously damaged, but the children of many of the parents who allied with parent activist Zhao Lianhai were not eligible for compensation.
Zhao was given a two-and-a-half year jail sentence in November for "inciting social disorder" after organizing a website for parents of the melamine-poisoned children.
In Gaohe, some residents are also demanding a probe into how their homes were allowed to be built in an industrial zone.
"Actually this problem has something to do with the government. To put it practically, an industrial area should have industrial uses," said Xiao Zhang.
"In general, there should not be any residential areas inside here but the government put the residents here. This should not have been allowed," the 29-year-old added.
He said one of the battery factories had been operating in the industrial park since 2007, about the same time his family was relocated to their current home.
Residents said children who tested above 250 micrograms of lead per liter of blood had been sent to the main children's hospital in the provincial capital of Hefei for treatment.
Parents demand answers in China lead poisoning | Reuters
By Royston Chan
GAOHE, China | Fri Jan 7, 2011 3:42am EST
GAOHE, China (Reuters) - Parents of children poisoned by lead in eastern China are demanding answers and compensation from the government after the country's latest incident of heavy metal pollution made more than 200 sick.
Authorities in Gaohe in eastern Anhui province have closed two battery plants blamed for the poisoning just a stone's throw from residences in contravention of planning laws, according to state media.
Some of the children affected are just a few months old.
"Children are precious to us. You tell me what I can do. I don't have many requests. The government has to stand up and give the children some answers and help," said 48-year-old Li Xiaoai, grandmother of three-year-old Jiang Shuangchao.
She said her granddaughter was found to have 245 micrograms of lead per liter of blood, and displayed symptoms of lead poisoning such as lack of appetite and fatigue.
Levels of more than 100 micrograms of lead per liter of blood are considered to be harmful and residents said most of the children in the community tested above those levels.
"I can't just leave the child at home and let her die," Li told Reuters.
Poisoning cases involving children are especially sensitive in China following a scandal in 2008 when at least six children died and nearly 300,000 became ill from drinking powdered milk laced with the industrial compound, melamine.
China set up a compensation fund for children whose health was seriously damaged, but the children of many of the parents who allied with parent activist Zhao Lianhai were not eligible for compensation.
Zhao was given a two-and-a-half year jail sentence in November for "inciting social disorder" after organizing a website for parents of the melamine-poisoned children.
In Gaohe, some residents are also demanding a probe into how their homes were allowed to be built in an industrial zone.
"Actually this problem has something to do with the government. To put it practically, an industrial area should have industrial uses," said Xiao Zhang.
"In general, there should not be any residential areas inside here but the government put the residents here. This should not have been allowed," the 29-year-old added.
He said one of the battery factories had been operating in the industrial park since 2007, about the same time his family was relocated to their current home.
Residents said children who tested above 250 micrograms of lead per liter of blood had been sent to the main children's hospital in the provincial capital of Hefei for treatment.
Parents demand answers in China lead poisoning | Reuters
