China Downplays Risk to Children from Lead Poisoning
June 27th, 2012Via: Reuters:
Chinese children suffering lead poisoning from polluting smelters and factories have been denied testing, effective treatment and even basic information by officials who downplayed health threats, a human rights advocacy group said on Wednesday.
The report from Human Rights Watch comes after China’s latest lead pollution outbreak, when 103 children and scores of adults were poisoned by tinfoil-making workshops in eastern Zhejiang province.
Beijing has vowed to clean up this chronic pollution, but New York-based Human Rights Watch said those efforts only go so far in addressing the needs of hundreds of thousands of children it says are suffering from lead poisoning in China.
Lead, especially harmful for children, can lead to learning difficulties and behavioral problems, and often parents who work at the plants bring home extra doses on their clothes and skin.
