Vol. 73/No. 34      September 7, 2009

Two weeks earlier about 1,000 villagers in Hunan Province in central China rolled logs onto the roadway to block entrance to a manganese smelter that has also led to children’s lead poisoning. The government arrested two of the plant’s top executives.

Both smelters, which have been closed by the government, are new. They are part of efforts by Beijing’s bureaucratic rulers to boost capitalist development, sometimes called “market socialism,” even at the expense of the health and safety of workers and residents of the surrounding communities.

At least 850 children living near the Dongling smelter have tested positive for lead poisoning, according to the official China Daily news service. Their blood showed levels of 100 to more than 500 milligrams of lead per liter of blood, whereas the normal count is zero to 100 milligrams. One hundred sixty-six of the children are now in the hospital. Lead poisoning can cause brain damage and muscle weakness.

When the plant was built in 2006, the Changqing county government promised to relocate the families living in nearby villages, but only 156 of 581 households have been able to move because new housing has not been completed. Some families that remain plan to send their children away to school next year, but others cannot afford the tuition.

Many factories are built near rural villages. One family of villagers in Sunjianantou, Shaanxi, told Reuters, “We get our water from our family well. We have no idea if it is safe enough or what to do about food.”

Dongling is one of China’s top 500 companies and brings in 17 percent of Changqing county’s gross domestic product.

The poisoning from the manganese smelter in Hunan Province is far wider in scope. So far, 1,354 children have tested positive, according to Reuters.

The Jinglian Manganese Smelting Factory began operating this year without approval by the local environmental protection bureau, the official Chinese news service Xinhua reported. A kindergarten, an elementary school, and a middle school are located within 550 yards of the plant.

The fate of adults living near the two smelters is unknown. The government is only paying for tests of children under the age of 14, according to Xinhua.
 
 
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