Beijing: Ninety-four people, including 88 children, in southwest China`s Sichuan province were found to have excessive levels of lead in their blood.
Children in Longchang county were found to be suffering from slight to moderate lead poisoning, official Xinhua news agency today quoted Zhu Qishang, a local medical expert, as saying.
The case of lead poisoning was discovered when a resident in Zhoujiasi village in the province was found to have excessive levels of lead in a health check-up and the matter was reported to the county environmental protection bureau on February 25.
The county authorities ordered shutdown of Zhongyi Alloy Co, a lead ingot producing company, the suspected source of pollution. They also organised medical tests for 1,756 residents in four villages within a radius of 800 meters of the company.
Results for 854 of the test takers have come out, and 94 of them were found to have high levels of lead in their blood, Deputy County Governor Kang Houlin said.
Seven children were being treated in Chengdu, the provincial capital. The remaining were placed under home observation.
Excessive amounts of lead in the body can harm the nervous and reproductive systems and cause high blood pressure and anaemia.
PTI
