远坂凛本子吧:The toxic legacy: poisoning metals pollution ...

来源：百度文库编辑：九乡新闻网时间：2024/04/30 20:33:05

The toxic legacy: poisoning metals pollution

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2011-5-25 08:59
Yuwang, five, with his mother Wan Lizhi, shows the medicine he must take

Thousands of villagers in Hunan are still living in the shadow of one of the worst pollution scandals on the mainland. And while the authorities have preferred to ignore their pleas for help, they may now have the proof they need - in their blood.

As villagers along the Liuyang River struggle to figure out how to make a living after toxic metals leaking from a nearby chemicals plant over six years destroyed their fertile farmland, the death toll - the unofficial one, that is - is growing.

People are dying of pollution-related diseases two years after the Xianghe Chemical factory was shut down. In Shuangqiao and neighbouring Puhua and Gankou, which lie about 70 kilometres north of the provincial capital Changsha , villagers say as many as 20 people have been killed by metal poisoning, so far.

But the Liuyang government stopped counting past the first two victims. The death toll has stayed at two since mass protests erupted over the death of five villagers in 2009.

Blood tests carried out this month by Beijing's Chaoyang Hospital showed three out of four villagers were suffering from high levels of cadmium, an extremely toxic metal which is used to make batteries.

Yet in a free check-up organised by the local authority last year, out of 3,600 villagers within a 1.2-kilometre radius of the plant, the number of people deemed to have excessive amount of cadmium was just 321. According to medical experts, chronic exposure to cadmium may damage the kidney and liver. It can cause cancer and failure of the nervous system and lungs.

In the latest blood tests, one Shuangqiao villager, Chen Haiyu, had more than three times the threshold considered safe by mainland authorities. An abnormal level of cadmium was also found in Chen's urine sample.

Like many others who have been poisoned by cadmium and lead, Chen, 33, says she suffers pains in her chest and bones and chronic fatigue.

Clinical autopsies by a provincial hospital on the only official victims - Luo Bailin , 44, and Ouyang Shuzhi, 61 - showed they died of brain damage and multiple organ failure, including their lungs, liver and kidneys, caused by acute cadmium poisoning. They both worked part-time at the chemical plant.

Villagers say most others died in similar circumstances, severely weakened and in agony, after their bodies, too, became riddled with cadmium and indium, a chemical used to make solar panels and liquid crystal displays. Despite local government refusals to link the deaths with the pollution scandal, the families of those who have died have each been given 38,000 to 68,000 yuan (HK$45,000 to HK$81,200) "for funeral expenses".

Shuangqiao villager Ouyang Jinfu said: "We are still at a loss about our future, which has been thrown into jeopardy by the damned smelter."

Ouyang, 64, who used to work at the factory, which stood within 50 metres of his home, has been poisoned, as has his wife and daughter-in-law, by life-threatening metals - notably cadmium and indium.

His greatest fears are for his grandson, Yuwang. The five-year-old has been found with excessive concentrations of lead and he is much smaller than the other children in the village.

"Yuwang was diagnosed with nephritis [a serious disease in which the kidneys become inflamed] two years ago, and now he has shown symptoms of intellectual deterioration. He can't even count from one to 10," said the grandfather.

A blood test in 2009 by doctors from provincial hospitals in the wake of the toxic metal leaks showed Yuwang's lead level was 50 per cent more than the recognised limit.

"He was briefly treated in the provincial children's hospital when the metal leaks were first exposed. We've been on our own after that, including paying his medication bill of around 400 yuan a month," Ouyang said.

At least 18 children have been found to have high concentrations of lead in their blood. In an official investigation two years ago, provincial authorities denied lead poisoning should be linked to the smelter, but the investigation report admitted that, in at least 70 hectares of rice paddies within a 1.2-kilometre radius of the plant, cadmium concentrations were at a dangerous level.

Authorities have also refused to provide checks on indium, which when the plant was operating fetched about US$1,000 per kilogram.

The factory had been illegally producing indium since 2004 without necessary safety facilities for dealing with the toxic waste, which was discharged, untreated, into the Liuyang River.

Although the smelter, located on a small hill right between Shuangqiao and Puhua villages, was shut at the height of the public outcry nearly two years ago, locals fear the full impact of the metal pollution has yet to be seen.

Shuangqiao villager Liu Hanming , 60, who was poisoned by cadmium after having worked at the factory from the start of its operation in 2004, said pollution was still everywhere in their daily lives.

"The river is contaminated. The farmland has been poisoned, and so have we," said Liu, insisting that villagers be relocated to minimise the pollution's impact.

"More people have fallen ill in the past year, and some of our neighbours have chosen to leave. We are still living in a contaminated environment and are constantly exposed to the poisoning of cadmium and other toxic metals. Authorities have done nothing useful to address our concerns."

Instead, local authorities insisted there was no need for resettlement or any prolonged fears about pollution because they were capable of cleaning up the contamination within a few years.

"Liuyang city government officials believed relocation was an unreasonable demand and told us not to even think about it," said Liu. "They said we were not up to the standard, but they never elaborated on the standard they referred to."

In a written response to questions raised by the South China Morning Post, the provincial environmental watchdog said it had taken a series of measures to tackle the pollution, including removing deeply contaminated soil and planting trees in the largely abandoned farmland.

But the tree planting has seen the credibility of local authorities plunge to a new low. While authorities maintained planting trees in polluted farmland was part of the clean-up effort, villagers believed it was another attempt by the government to cover up the scandal.

"They don't want people from outside to see our barren farmland largely deserted after the scandal, which is the best proof of the metal poisoning," said Li Minghui from Puhua village.

The environmental protection bureau went on to claim that no abnormal cadmium levels were found in the affected areas in a soil test in September last year as a result of their clean-up effort.

But locals know too well that there is no cure for cadmium poisoning. Villagers have been told by experts that their farmland may not be suitable for growing crops for at least three decades.

Medical experts have also warned that the harmful effects of heavy metals could last for up to 30 years once absorbed into their bodies. (From SCMP)

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