China lead poisoning victims' face tough tests

Two weeks ago, Xiao Fengying travelled seven hours by car with her two sick children aged six and 13 from their home in China's rural Hunan province to Changsha city for medical treatment.

Both were suffering from suspected lead poisoning caused by a smelting plant near their village. Seventeen children from their area, aged 10 months to 14 years, are living in the hospital here as doctors determine their condition.

"They were coughing, they refused to eat, they were catching cold quite easily and they got tired quickly," explained Xiao, whose home was near the manganese factory found to be the cause of the problem.

"We're waiting for the final results, and we should be able to go home in a few days," she said.

"But I'm afraid that this sickness will continue to affect them in the future, that they will be unable to remember things -- I'm afraid they could be handicapped."

More than 1,300 children -- 70 percent of the children under the age of 14 living in villages near the Wugang plant -- tested positive for elevated levels of lead in their blood.

A similar incident in northern Shaanxi province left more than 850 children with lead poisoning, 170 of whom required hospitalisation.

Tests on Xiao's son revealed lead levels far surpassing normal readings. Children are more vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can harm the nervous system and impair motor skills.

Outraged parents staged a violent protest earlier this month, overturning a police car. But officials have defended their response to the incident, saying the government has done everything necessary.

"The Wugang lead poisoning case has already been handled in a proper manner," the city's deputy mayor Lei Zhanglin told the Guangzhou Daily.

"No matter if (the factory owners) have powerful backers or if they are influential economically, we will get to the bottom of this."

Inspection teams from the environmental and health ministries have been sent to investigate, state media reported.

"The government is taking care of everything, including the costs for the parents," said Zhang Yirui, deputy director of the Changsha hospital where the children are being treated, which specialises in industrial illnesses.

At the hospital, the older children run through the hallways from room to room under the watchful eye of nurses and parents, while the babies are rocked gently by their mothers.

Other children watch television at the facility, located near a massive construction site -- a new hospital due to open before year's end.

Li Yu, aged 30, is seated on a bed covered with a bamboo mat with his five-year-son. He says he still does not understand the diagnosis for his child, whose lead level was hazardously high.

"The experts will have the final say," Li said.

"Classes will resume soon, so we're a bit pressed for time. We hope his health will improve quickly so he can start school on schedule."

Zhang, the hospital official, emphasises that so far, no critical cases have been recorded in Changsha.

"They've been here for 10 days and they are in stable condition," he said, adding that in many cases, doctors help filter the lead out through "nutritional" treatment.

"We have to be careful about using medicines, as these children are still growing and medications could have side-effects," Zhang noted.

Xiao, speaking to AFP in the presence of a hospital official, said: "The government is paying for this treatment. I just hope the plant stays closed and my children get better."