【双语阅读】中国关闭铅中毒事件责任工厂

chijiaoshunv

英国《金融时报》席佳琳(Kathrin Hille)北京报道 2009-08-21


China shuts third plant in lead poisoning scandal

China has closed down a manganese smelter after more than 1,300 children living near it were found to suffer from lead poisoning, state media said yesterday.

The scandal marks the third public case of metal contamination in less than a month. It comes at a time when the Chinese government has become increasingly worried about the environmental and health costs of pollution, and rising public anger over the problem.

Authorities closed the Jinglian manganese smelter in Wenping town in southern Hunan province and detained two executives after 1,354 children were diagnosed with excessive lead levels in their blood, Xinhua, the official news agency, reported yesterday.

The Wugang city government said in a statement on its website that the Jinglian manganese factory had operated illegally and discharged lead exceeding legal limits.

The case has given parents a nasty reminder of the government's inability to protect their children from health hazards just a year after hundreds of babies fell ill from melamine-tainted milk powder.

The discovery of widespread melamine contamination in the milk supply that killed six babies in China and made more than 300,000 people ill last year shocked consumers.

Experts believe the recent cases may be only the tip of the iceberg as 30 years of rapid industrialisation under often poor local governance has created toxic sites all over the country.

The series of industrial pollution cases is only becoming public as escalating protests force the government's hand. Soil and water contamination from heavy industry is widespread in China, but local authorities often ignore residents' complaints until protests turn violent or the issue is revealed to a wider public over the internet.

At Wenping, about 1,000 villagers earlier this month blocked a road and flipped over a police car during a protest against toxins from the manganese smelter, the China Daily added.

Earlier this week, state media reported protesters had broken into a smelting works they blamed for the lead poisoning of hundreds of children in northwestern Shaanxi province. More than 800 children living near the Dongling metal smelter have dangerous amounts of the heavy metal in their blood and 174 are so sick they have been admitted to hospital, state media reported.

Health activists have expressed outrage. “How many more health threats will we have?” asked Zhao Lianhai, the organiser of a group of melamine milk victims' parents.

“I hope that the parents of the lead victims can also use the internet to spread the word, and get organised to defend their rights like we did.”



中国关闭铅中毒事件责任工厂

中国官方媒体昨日报道称，在发现居住在一家锰冶炼厂附近的逾1300名儿童铅中毒后，有关部门关闭了这家工厂。

这一丑闻是不到一个月的时间内，中国发生的第三起金属污染的公众事件。值此之际，中国政府越来越担心污染造成的环境及健康问题，以及公众日益上升的不满情绪。

中国官方新闻机构新华社昨日报道称，在1354名儿童被诊断出血铅超标后，有关部门关闭了湖南省南部文坪镇的精炼锰加工厂，并拘留了该厂的两名负责人。

武冈市政府在其网站上发表声明称，精炼锰加工厂违法生产，超标排铅。

这一案件让家长们痛苦地意识到，在数百名儿童因食用被三聚氰胺污染的奶粉而患病的一年后，政府仍无力保护他们的孩子免受健康危害。

去年出现的牛奶遭三聚氰胺大范围污染事件，导致中国6名婴儿死亡，逾30万人患病，令消费者感到震惊。

专家们认为，由于地方治理水平往往较低，30年来的快速工业化进程，已导致有毒场所遍布全国各地，近期发生的事件可能只是冰山一角。

随着抗议不断升级，政府不得不公开了一系列工业污染事件。中国到处都有重工业导致的土壤和水污染，但地方政府往往对居民的投诉不予理睬，直到抗议演变为暴力活动，或问题在互联网上公诸于众。

《中国日报》(China Daily)报道称，本月早些时候，约1000名文坪镇村民抗议精炼锰厂排污，他们堵塞了公路，还掀翻了一辆警车。

本周早些时候，官方媒体报道称，在中国西北部的陕西省，抗议者强行冲入一家导致数百名儿童铅中毒的冶炼厂。居住在东岭金属冶炼厂附近的逾800名儿童血液中的重金属含量达到了危险水平，174名儿童病情严重，已入院治疗。

健康维权人士对此表示愤慨。三聚氰胺牛奶受害者家长联盟的组织者赵连海问道：“我们还会有多少健康威胁？”

“我希望，血铅受害者的父母也能利用互联网传播消息，并像我们一样，组织起来捍卫自己的权利。”


译者/何黎

chijiaoshunv

仁、义、礼、智、信 ， 看似简单的几个字是有先后顺序的。

希望更多商家怀有一颗仁爱之心，不要把自己的幸福建立在他人痛苦的基础上