Protests bring light to China’s lead poisoning, pollution

It’s not often an environmental issue leads to political unrest, but that’s exactly the case in China's Hunan province.

Hundreds of children were found to have high lead poisoning levels, leading parents to protest against the government.

The government responded with attacks of its own, spreading rumors that some of these parents were being detained because of a connection with the religious sect Falun Gong, which has grown a reputation for standing up to the government.

The protesters claim the high lead levels are caused by pollution running from local factories into the watershed. Chinese authorities, on the other hand, brush it off as being merely a result of car exhaust.

While the two take jabs at each other, no one seems to be dealing with the real issue. Lead poisoning poses long-lasting, irrevocable damage, especially to children. It can damage the nervous and reproductive systems and cause high blood pressure, memory loss and loss of appetite, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, other parts of China are dealing with the same problem. Around 500 families will be made refugees in Shaanxi Province after it was proven that a factory caused the lead poisoning in the children there.

Even scarier for China and the rest of the world, the smelter factory is owned by Dongling, which makes up an astounding 17 percent of China’s GDP.

Fortunately, if there’s one thing Chinese officials hate it’s negative publicity.

“Pollution from chemicals such as mercury, chromium, cadmium, lead and arsenic and other metals have become increasingly prominent, seriously endangering the health of local citizens and resulting in adverse social impacts,” Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian said.

Hopefully the same national pride that spurred China to wrap Beijing in splendor for the Olympics will push the world’s most populous nation to take environmental concerns seriously.