More than 620 sickened by lead poisoning in east China

More than 620 sickened by lead poisoning in east China

2011-06-12 16:27:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

HANGZHOU, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- More than 620 people, a part of them children, have been sickened by lead poisoning in eastern China, according to a report from the state-run Xinhua news agency on Sunday.

Xinhua said preliminary medical tests show that workers at 25 family-run tinfoil processing workshops in Shaoxing County of Zhejiang Province were found having dangerously high levels of lead in their blood. Several of them have been hospitalized at a local hospital.

According to the report, 26 adults and 103 children were found to be suffering from severe lead poisoning, which is defined as having more than 600 micrograms of lead per liter of blood for an adult and more than 250 micrograms for a child. Twelve of them have been hospitalized, according to a spokesman for the county's health bureau, who said the victims will receive free treatment.

Another 494 people have been found to be suffering from moderate lead poisoning, which is defined as having 400 to 600 micrograms of lead per liter of blood. Xinhua did not say how many of that number were children, but they were not hospitalized.

Excessive amounts of lead in the blood can damage the digestive, nervous, and reproductive systems and cause stomachaches, anemia and convulsions. It can in severe cases lead to death, especially in children.

Xinhua said the source of the poisoning is not yet known. Samples of water, air and soil in the region found no lead contamination, but the 25 workshops have suspended their operations while the investigation continues.

In October 2009, China said it would move around 15,000 residents who lived near the country's largest lead smelter base in central Henan province. More than 1,000 children were earlier found to have excessive levels of lead in their blood.

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