Lead Poisoning Puts 28 Children in Hospital in China

An unlicensed battery factory is blamed for sending twenty-eight children including some as young as nine months old, to hospital in eastern China due to lead poisoning, state media said Thursday.

Doctors first detected abnormally high lead levels in the blood of three children in the town of Gaohe in Anhui province last month, prompting authorities to carry out tests on 280 children, Xinhua news agency said.

Lead Poisoning - Facts & Statistics, Health Effects, Diagnosis, Treatment
Lead Poisoning occurs due to exposure to the heavy metal lead. The presence of lead in the body above a certain limit is associated with severe health effects.

More than 200 were found to have excessive lead in their blood, and those hospitalised -- aged nine months to 16 years -- were suffering from "moderate to severe" lead poisoning, the report said, citing a hospital official.

Inspectors from the local environmental protection bureau found that Borui Battery Co. Ltd., which had been operating illegally, was the cause of the problem. They closed down the plant as well as another factory in the area.

Excessive levels of lead in the blood are considered hazardous, particularly to children, who can experience stunted growth and even mental retardation.

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In October 2009, nearly 1,000 children tested positive for lead poisoning in the central province of Henan. Smelting plants in the area were found to be responsible.

Such incidents have exposed the dark side of the country's economic boom.

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Rapid industrialisation over the last 30 years has left China, the world's second-largest economy, with some of the world's worst water and air pollution and has left widespread environmental damage.

Source-AFP