Latest news with #lead poisoning
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
More Than 200 Children Get Lead Poisoning from Food Served at an Elementary School
More than 200 young students were found to have high levels of lead in their blood due to paint allegedly being added to their school food Cake and corn roll sausages served to children at Peixin Kindergarten in the Chinese city of Tianshui caused the high levels, test results showed Several people, including the school's principal, have since been arrested as the investigation remains ongoingSeveral people have been arrested after more than 200 young students were found to have high levels of lead in their blood due to paint allegedly being added to their food at school. An investigation was launched into Peixin Kindergarten in the Chinese city of Tianshui on July 1, after authorities received reports from the public of abnormally high levels of lead in the blood of some of the children attending the school, CNN and local outlet CCTV News reported. According to the city's government report, which was obtained by CCTV News, lead was found in 'three-color red date steamed cake' that was served for breakfast, as well as 'a corn roll sausage" that was provided "for dinner.' 'The lead content of the two samples was 1,052 mg/kg and 1,340 mg/kg, respectively, both exceeding the national food safety standard of 0.5 mg/kg for food contaminants,' the report stated, per the local outlet. CCTV News added that test results showed that 233 of the 251 children enrolled had abnormal blood lead levels. Nearby schools Weibei Kindergarten, Ci'ai Kindergarten and Mengdi'ai Kindergarten were also tested, but the blood results from those students showed normal levels. According to the government report, principal Zhu Moulin and Li Moufang, who backed the school financially, allegedly instructed the establishment's kitchen staff to buy paint online and use it in some food production after dilution. The paint used contained lead with 'packaging clearly marked that it was not edible," the report stated. Video footage obtained by the U.K.'s Sky News shows a kitchen staff member allegedly pouring the paint into a bowl, before being helped by another staff member to prepare the food. Moulin, Moufang and eight others were eventually detained on suspicion of producing toxic and harmful food, while two others, whose identities have not been made public, were put on bail pending trial, CCTV News reported. Peixin Kindergarten obtained a certificate to run the school in 2022, and students were later enrolled in August 2024, the local outlet added. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The government report said officials "are deeply saddened by the physical and mental harm caused to the children and parents of Maiji District Peixin Kindergarten." It added that the investigation into the situation remains ongoing. Peixin Kindergarten could not immediately be reached by PEOPLE for comment on Sunday, July 13. Read the original article on People
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
China widens kindergarten lead poisoning investigation as central government gets involved
China has expanded the probe into a kindergarten lead poisoning scandal that has shocked the nation, with the central government getting involved in a rare intervention in a provincial investigation. Advertisement On Saturday night the authorities in Gansu said the investigation would be led by provincial leaders working alongside a task force from the State Council, the country's cabinet. Last week, Chinese media reported that 233 of 251 children at the kindergarten in Tianshui, a second-tier city in the northwestern province, were found to have abnormal blood lead levels Parents said local tests had not highlighted that anything was amiss and the problem only came to light when the children were tested in another province. The local police said on Tuesday that the kindergarten was suspected of using inedible paint to add colour to food and had detained eight people, including the principal. Advertisement The provincial investigation team is headed by party chief Hu Changsheng and governor Ren Zhenhe, working alongside other officials, police and party discipline inspectors. Experts from the national environmental and health ministries and a task force from the state council's food safety commission will also be involved, the statement said.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese lead poisoning scandal sparks backlash, echoing earlier controversies
A lead poisoning scandal at a kindergarten in northwest China – and the local government's attempt to cover up wrongdoing – has sparked public backlash, and observers say the case highlights a familiar pattern often seen in the wake of high-profile safety incidents Advertisement Liu Qifang, the father of a girl who attended the kindergarten at the centre of the scandal , received a phone call from an unknown caller last week, according to South Reviews magazine on Tuesday. The caller confirmed Liu's identity, then curtly said '5.416' and hung up. The number was a reference to his daughter's results from a blood test in Tianshui in Gansu province, where the kindergarten is located. That test said his daughter's blood lead level was 5.416 micrograms per litre (mcg/L), much lower than the 100mcg/L level deemed elevated in children by Chinese health authorities. Liu decided to have his daughter tested in Xian, capital of neighbouring Shaanxi province, as reassurance. That test result came out to 232mcg/L – 40 times the number he was told in Gansu. Advertisement Other parents shared similar stories with the media. After the scandal was revealed, they received normal test results over the phone from people they believed to be local government workers.
CNN
5 days ago
- Health
- CNN
A case of children with high lead levels in China is spotlights a public trust gap
A case in which more than 200 kindergarten students in northwestern China were found to have abnormal blood lead levels is revealing a deep distrust in local government, as members of the public question the findings of an official investigation. Authorities in the city of Tianshui in China's Gansu province earlier this week said eight people, including the principal of the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten, had been detained after an investigation found 233 students had been exposed to lead after school kitchen staff used inedible paint containing the toxic substance as food coloring. The case initially generated new outrage in a country long plagued by food and environmental safety scandals. But in the days since it has also become a lightning rod for public mistrust of official handling of such cases, in a system where there are few independent checks and officials are under pressure to resolve issues quickly. Among the most glaring examples is the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in central China's Wuhan, when local authorities detained supposed 'rumormongers' who had tried to warn of the spread of a virus in the city as officials downplayed the outbreak. On social media, many are questioning the credibility of the government report and aspects of the state media coverage. Some discussion appears to have been censored online in China's tightly controlled media environment, though other articles exploring the situation remain active. One mother in the city, whose child does not attend the school that's been at the center of the official investigation, described to CNN mistrust among local families about the government's findings. 'All the parents think (food is not the actual source of the lead poisoning). But we don't know the exact reasons … how are we supposed to know anything?' the mother, who declined to be identified due to concerns about local government retaliation, told CNN in a phone interview. 'Ordinary folks like us probably have no clue – only the government knows what's really going on,' she said. CNN has repeatedly tried to contact the Tianshui government for comment and has also reached out to China's State Council Information Office by fax. The government in its Tuesday report said the investigation was on-going and that officials from the National Health Commission and other central government departments had helped with the probe. Among key concerns raised in online discussion are what reports suggest are serious discrepancies between the results of blood tests conducted in Tianshui and those that came back from hospitals in Xi'an, a city in a neighboring province, where some parents took their children to be tested. The Tianshui test results were never publicly disclosed. One mother of a student at the kindergarten said a local department in Tianshui told her the blood levels of her child were normal, but a hospital in Xi'an later found her child's blood lead levels were 528 micrograms per liter, according to a report published by China National Radio (CNR). China's official guidelines classify this as 'severe lead poisoning.' Reports from state-affiliated media found that 70 children who were tested in Xi'an had blood lead levels surpassing the threshold of lead poisoning, with six of those cases exceeding 450 micrograms per liter. A full picture of the results from all the students with abnormal levels was not publicly available. In the investigation report, local authorities said they had conducted sampling investigations at the kindergarten and three affiliated schools and tested food samples, water, outdoor soil and other supplies and equipment. Two food samples – of cake and a corn roll – at the kindergarten, were found to have lead levels more than 2,000 times the national food safety standard for contamination. But that didn't quell questions. 'The children only eat three-color jujube steamed cake and corn sausage rolls once or twice a week, how could they be poisoned so seriously?' one mother, who gave her surname Wu, told CNR. Independent blogs online looking into the case have garnered tens of thousands of views. Some discussion appears to have been censored online in China's tightly controlled media environment, though other articles exploring the situation remain active. Some of these accounts raised questions including about why the school, which authorities said used the paint to 'attract more enrollment and increase revenue,' wouldn't have just used simple food coloring, which ecommerce sites show is generally cheaper than industrial pigment. Others raised questions about the credibility of an edited closed-circuit video released by state media alleging to show use of the coloring in the kindergarten's kitchen. Local concerns were also fueled by memory of a 2006 lead poisoning scandal in the same district of Tianshui. Then, over 200 villagers were found to have high levels of lead in their blood during tests conducted outside Tianshui city, according to a state media commentary on the incident published at the time. The source of that lead poisoning case was never officially disclosed. The current case has caught the attention of prominent figures in China's online ecosystem, including Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of state-affiliated media outlet Global Times. 'Questions about environmental pollution are valid, but those raising such concerns need to maintain objectivity in their analysis and should not treat these associative doubts as urgent alarms to spread in society,' Hu wrote on China's X-like social media platform Weibo on Wednesday. But, he also added it was 'key for authorities providing ample information to strengthen public trust.' Professor Stuart Khan, head of the University of Sydney's School of Civil Engineering, told CNN that blood lead level concentrations as high as those cited by state media reports about this case would 'typically require regular exposure for several weeks to months, unless there is a very acute poisoning episode' and that levels can rise progressively with 'continuous environmental exposure.' Potential sources of contamination, such as food, soil or water, could be ruled out by conducting assessments in the broader community and family members of the children to identify who is predominately affected, said Khan, who is not involved in this case. Lead poisoning used to be a more widespread issue in China. In 2010, the central government for the first time allocated special funds for heavy metal pollution prevention in response to at least 12 high-profile cases the previous year that left more than 4,000 people with elevated blood lead levels, according to state media.
