August 12, AP reported that a lead smelting works in China has been closed after 300 kids became ill. It seems this is one health scandal that the authorities could not ignore. According to AP:

The move appeared to be a rare victory for health advocates in China, where pollution concerns are often ignored and those who raise complaints face harassment.

Children living near the Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Co. in Shaanxi province began getting sick in July and parents taking their children to hospital blamed pollution from the factory, says the official Xinhua News Agency.

Investigators found that lead was leaking into the soil, air, and water sources for some 425 families living in the nearby town of Changqing.

Lead poisoning goes by various names usually depending on how the lead was ingested or absorbed or the symptoms it produces: colica pictonium, saturnism, plumbism, Devon colic, or painter’s colic. Fundamentally, increased levels of this element in the blood can be detrimental to health leading in worst cases to irreversible neurological damage, kidney disease, effects on the heart and damage to the reproductive system.

Any of the following symptoms may be associated with acute lead poisoning:

• Excess lethargy
• Abdominal pain
• Headache
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Poor appetite
• Weight loss

Medical advice should be sought if any of those symptoms present and exposure to lead has occurred.

Chronic symptoms may include:

• Muscle pain
• Weakness
• Tremors, twitches, spasms, or cramps
• Encephalopathy
• Kidney problems or failure
• Inability to concentrate, hyperactivity, irritability, aggressiveness, mood swings, or insomnia
• Memory loss
• Metallic taste in the mouth
• Chest pain
• Anemia
• Impotence
• Reproductive problems

Of course, any one of those symptoms may be associated with various other conditions, not just exposure to lead, either way, seek medical attention.

Lead poisoning in the news

• Police, security guard China factory after protest (ctv.ca)
• Lead Poisoning of Children in China Leads to Disturbance (nytimes.com)
• Chinese mayor apologizes for lead poisoning (ctv.ca)
• Lead Poisoning Sickens 600 Kids in China (abcnews.go.com)
• Chinese parents clash with cops near smelter (msnbc.msn.com)
• You: Chinese Factory Closes After 300 Kids Sickened (abcnews.go.com)
• Villagers storm Chinese lead factory (guardian.co.uk)
• China ’smelter poisoned children’ (news.bbc.co.uk)
• China villagers storm lead plant (news.bbc.co.uk)
• More than 300 Chinese children poisoned by lead (telegraph.co.uk)