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Smelter at center of lead poisoning scandal shut down

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-19 12:00

A smelting plant in northwest China's Shaanxi province was shut down Monday amid public anger over heavy metal discharges that have left at least 851 children ill as of Tuesday.

Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Co in Fengxiang County in the city of Baoji, had been ordered by environment protection authorities to suspend lead and zinc production on Aug 6, after sporadic cases of lead poisoning were reported among children from two villages near the factory site.

But during a protest Monday this week villagers complained the factory's coke facilities were still operational. The plant produces 100,000 tons of lead and zinc and 700,000 tons of coke annually.

"The workers were told not to wear uniforms to work, and workshops have been brightly-lit until midnight," said a resident from Madaokou Village, which is close to the plant.

Baoji Mayor Dai Zhengshe said Monday coke production had not been halted immediately because of fears that gas in pipelines might explode.

He ordered an immediate halt to all production Monday.

"We had to make sure the gas in the pipeline was exhausted before the shutdown," said Dai. "Now we've closed down the plant, we won't allow it to open again until it has been proven it will not harm villagers."

Dai, who arrived at the plant Monday noon amid a protest by hundreds of villagers, apologized for the lead poisoning and its harmful effects on residents.

Anger from villagers

During the protests, villagers tore down fences and stoned coal-carrying trucks and other vehicles. They also broke into the company's offices and smashed desks, computers and windows.

Social order returned to normal Tuesday. There was no crowd around the company.

Police officers were seen maintaining order at the company Tuesday afternoon.

Amid widespread lead poisoning fears, Fengxiang county government last week offered free blood tests for 731 children aged 14 and under, 615 of whom were found to have excessive lead levels in their blood. Of those, 166 cases were considered serious, with lead levels of more than 250 mg a liter of blood compared with the normal zero to 100 mg a liter.

Villagers said pollution was apparent even to the naked eye.

A woman surnamed Lei said she had collected a full bowl of black dust while cleaning her roof Sunday. "Whenever Dongling's workshops were operating, you'd see black and silver dust in the air. Stand in the open air for a while and your body would be covered with dust."

Residents have demanded free blood tests for everybody, as the level of poisoning among those older than 14 is still unknown. Dai promised the government would "respond promptly."

Up to standard, but poisonous

At a press conference on Saturday, the local environment watchdog blamed the smelter for the lead poisoning.

"Lead content in the air along main routes near the plant is 6.3 times that of monitoring sites 350 meters from the roads," said Han Qinyou, head of the Baoji Municipal Environmental Protection Monitoring Station.

But the official said lab tests on samples also showed "ground and surface water, soil and the smelter's waste discharge had all met national standards."

The words sparked doubt and controversy among villagers and millions of Internet users monitoring the situation.

"I don't trust these results," said Wang Jihui, a woman from Sunjianantou Village. "If their discharges really met standards, how come so many children were poisoned?"

Wang's grandson tested positive for lead poisoning, with 248 mg per liter of blood.

Even Zhao Weiping, an executive with the smelter, admitted meeting "national standards for industrial discharges could still be way behind minimum requirements for habitation."

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