Further Case of Industrial Poisoning in China
January 7, 2010
China is often criticised for its sub-standard safety practices inside factories and out. In the latest reported case of mercury poisoning, a spokesperson stated that many workers could not be bothered to wear a mask when working with liquid mercury.
Professor Michael Lentze from one of Germany’s poison control centres pointed out that this could be quite hazardous and explained that people could be poisoned by inhaling steamed mercury.
“Workers working at an industrial plant where liquid mercury goes into the air are bound to inhale mercury and get poisoned if they do not have a mask on,” he said.
He added that mercury could also get into the body by consuming water that had been contaminated by industrial waste or even by eating shell fish, as many pollutants ended up in the ocean.
Poisoning affects the kidneys and the brain
Poisoning is known to have serious effects on the body and “affects particularly the kidneys and the brain, and can therefore have neurological symptoms,” Lentze said.
Heavy metal poisoning is nothing new in China. Since August 2009, 3,000 children have been reported as having lead poisoning. On top of that, at the end of November, over a thousand families in Shaanxi province had to be relocated because they lived near a lead smelter that caused cases of poisoning.
Lead is used in colouring agents for ceramic products and also in some foods, which can cause organic lead poisoning. There is also inorganic lead poisoning, which is caused by gasoline containing lead compounds. It gets into the body by being inhaled or defused through the skin.
“Lead is poisonous for the organs in the body. It is poisonous for the brain, for the heart, for the liver and the kidneys,” Professor Lentze explained.
Heavy metal poisoning can also cause agitation, memory loss and brain damage. There are treatments which rid the body of the compounds, if the poisoning is detected on time but prevention is, of course, far better than treatment.
Some endeavours to clean up the environment
“What we’ve seen over the past couple of decades is that China -- the industrial centre for the world in terms of production of cheap goods -- has produced a lot of environmental problems,” explained WWF country director for China, Dermot O’Gorman.
“These are visible not only in water pollution and other pollution problems. I think that we are seeing at the moment endeavours by the central government to clean up the environment but I think there are still a number of challenges at a provincial level of putting environmental legislation and protection into place.”
China’s environment has suffered greatly under the country’s rapid economic development, as the government has placed more emphasis on the latter.
However, there is proof that economic development can co-exist with environmentally-friendly production and China, too, is striving towards this.
Author: Sarah Berning
Editor: Thomas Bärthlein