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<br />Il1.UJH/lSUNDAY, SEPT. 30 - OCT. '1; 2006
<br />
<br />A Poison Spreads
<br />Amid C'hina~s BOOITl
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<br />Danger~uily high levels of lead are discovered
<br />in many children; ground zero is Xinsi Village
<br />
<br />An Imported charm proves deadly In Minneapolis
<br />
<br />B~ SAW OSTU ADd JANE SPENCER
<br />
<br />D ' , XillSi, CldlUl
<br />OCTORS TREATING a five-year-old boy after a horrific electrical
<br />accident this spring were surprlsea to fina another, equally serious
<br />problem: dangerously elevated levels 01 lead in his blood.
<br />The incident W1covered one 01 China's worst known cases 01 lead poisoning.
<br />For a decade, a lactory near Xinsl, an Isolated village in the mOWltains of
<br />China's western Gansu province, made leaa Ingots usea in manufacturing
<br />
<br />color television tubes and cables
<br />shipped aroWld the, world.
<br />It also poured out poisoned air
<br />containing 800 times the permissi.
<br />ble level of lead emissions, officials
<br />:OilY.
<br />Nearly everyone Irom the village'
<br />who has been tested so tar-includ.
<br />ing some 250 children from three
<br />schools-has been fOWld with unsafe
<br />amoWlts of lead in their bodies. Ten
<br />children 'remain hospitalized and at
<br />least lour are likely to have severe
<br />brain damage in the village ot '1,800
<br />people, according to Xinhua, China's.
<br />official news agency.
<br />"There's not one person in this
<br />village witljout lead poisoning," says
<br />-. .... - "
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<br />...-.. ... --- ---... -. - ---
<br />
<br />cern in children. Studies show even
<br />slightly elevated lead levels can 'lead
<br />to permanent neurological damage
<br />and reduced IQ. '
<br />
<br />coming in at all. Parents and teacn.
<br />Please Turn 10 Page A6, Column 1
<br />
<br />Continued From First Page
<br />ers say children are having memory and
<br />concentration problems.
<br />The 'disaster shows how vulnerable
<br />China's citizens are to the environmental
<br />damage inflicted by the couJltry's rapid
<br />industrial growth. The result is a health
<br />crisis that could have long-term conse-
<br />quences lor a generation o~ children.
<br />Even in wealthier areas of China such as
<br />Shanghal ana Guangdong province, offi.
<br />cials say the deteljorating environment
<br />is a factor behind a rise in birth defects.
<br />A lack of pollution controls has co~-,
<br />taminated China's soil, water and lLlr
<br />with lead, mercury and other pollutants-
<br />and lett millions of children with danger-
<br />ously high levels of toxic metals in their
<br />blood. Making matters worse, much of
<br />
<br />..,...... ""...... ..."'.....r-..J - ..-
<br />The factory lies at the base of a sma!1
<br />creek, a stone's throw from the local pr!-
<br />mary school, and its smokestack domi-
<br />nates the countryside. It is far from any
<br />lead-ore deposits or convenient transpor-
<br />tation. One local official said the factory
<br />was built in Xinsi instead of clos~r to
<br />bigger cities to avoid scrutiny. C~I~a's
<br />environmental regulators and actlVl~ts
<br />say it's increasingly common for heaVIly
<br />polluting industries to, ":love, to the coun-
<br />tryside, where superVIsIOn IS. w~ak.
<br />There are signs that the XinSI factory
<br />followed at least rudimentary safety pro-
<br />cedures with its own workers, many of
<br />................. no......,.. #......~ ,..ute-lI'iO tho ".HhHrA Thp
<br />
<br />OFFICIALS ONLY started tak. I
<br />. . ing the allegations serl?USl~,af- i.'"
<br />ter a local newspaper In Xi an I"
<br />reported Sept. 5 about all the vii- ,
<br />, r. -^-~ M~inn- in for 'Mln tests. That story:
<br />
<br />,were'intende4 for calciwn. di,srupUng.
<br />brain circuits critical for learning', and
<br />sometimeli impeding cell growth. The ~ro- .
<br />cess leads to irreverslj:lle intellectual un-
<br />pairment. Lead exposure is especially
<br />harmfw to children.
<br />... . ..,:__: -__1.__1... .....ro..Qnt
<br />
<br />Shanghai and Guangdong province, offi.
<br />cials say the dete~iorating environment
<br />is a factor behind a rise in birth defects.
<br />
<br />THE WALL' STREET JOURNAL:
<br />
<br />International he~th"i1~ies, say J
<br />there's no effective trea~eQt' for lead I
<br />. exposure except in the most l1te-thre~ten- ,
<br />ing cases,. when patients can be gwen I
<br />. drugs caned chelation' agents. tllat stnp,
<br />heavY metals out of the. body, . But the,
<br />,drugs cannot. re- "
<br />verse brain d~-
<br />age that has al.
<br />ready occurred,
<br />and they carry
<br />risks of their own .
<br />because they also
<br />strip useful metals
<br />from the bO<Iy, such
<br />as iron and zinc.
<br />Wu Wenchou, a
<br />bright-eyed 15-year- '
<br />old girl, IS one of
<br />those who was POI-
<br />soned. Ms. Wu Wu Wenchou
<br />speaks standard-
<br />ized Mandarin-a clear mark of an educa-
<br />tion in a rural county where the local
<br />dialect dominates. "I used to dream of
<br />going abroad to study, maybe eve,n Amer-
<br />ica," she said quietly, barely h,olding ba:;k
<br />tears. "My dream has been shattered..
<br />Once a class star, young Ms. ~u be-
<br />gan having difficulty concentratmg on
<br />her homework, and her test scores kept
<br />falling. Her once-proud . mother shouted
<br />at her as her grades dropped. Her blood
<br />has lead levels of 261-more than double
<br />the standards forl\afety., She called her
<br />older sister, who is studymg at a nearby
<br />medical school, and told her to come
<br />home for the lead tests, too.. ..
<br />, "I'm afraid. We ha.ve no choice, . s~e
<br />shrugged. "These are the facts, this IS
<br />
<br />reali ty. "
<br />
<br />. Online Today: WSJ.com 5lfbs~-
<br />ers can see photos from XI1ISI mI-
<br />lage, at W&J.com/OnllneToday.
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