Toxic China: Widespread Lead Pollution is Poisoning Children
March 10, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff

http://www.naturalnews.com/035202_lead_pollution_China_children.html

These dolls are recognized and cherished by children
around the world. However, toys like Barbie and Hot
Wheels are the source of making some children very
ill from the lead used in producing them.

Summary:

Even though they are known for their mastery in manufacturing, China’s industrial materials and chemicals are causing tons of environmental pollution—and the children of China are paying for it. The town of Dongtang, which is located near the main manufacturing region, has released that at least 160 of their town’s children have been poisoned by lead pollution released from local factories. There was ‘elevated’ levels of lead in the blood of many children who live near the manufacturing plants, which make lead products like heavy metals and batteries. The pollution contaminates the air, water, and often the local crops and food supply. Dongtang is not the only affected area. According to South China Morning Post, there are already more than 500 reported cases of lead poisoning in kids who live near China’s major manufacturing regions. Also, the U.S.’s Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia says that the normal range for lead in blood is less than 10 micrograms per deciliter in kids. Some of the children being tested in china had between 10,000-25,600 micrograms/deciliter. This means that the children are having an intake of up to 2,560 percent higher than the normal levels. This is not a new problem, either. There was a recall in 2007 of about one million toys such as Barbie doll and Hot Wheels, because the manufactured toys in China had dangerous amounts of lead in their paint. The residents of China have filed complaints concerning the lead poisonings, but the officials who run the industrialization are doing their best to ignore or conceal the issue of health. To make a statement for themselves, some local residents have staged protests and boycotts against the companies who pollute their towns. In one case of 2009, activists destroyed the equipment of a factory that poisoned at least 600 kids.

Reflection:

This was probably the saddest of the articles I’ve had to make a blog on. It’s terrible that the officials of the manufacturing plants in China took industry over the safety of young children. The most shocking fact to me was that they were taking in up to 2,560 percent higher levels of lead in their blood than normal! I’m surprised they all survived, or at least there was no mention of death in the article. It really makes you think too where everything comes from, and how we take things for granted. I always played with Barbie’s as a kid, and my brother had tons of Hot Wheels cars. It’s really depressing to think that all those children over there in China are suffering, and it won’t be stopped because people like us are consuming their products. I also connected this to a video we watched in science class: The Story of Stuff. In this video an environmentalist studied and shared the process of manufactured materials and how industry works. She mentioned that there were harmful pollutions emitted from the factories that produced many goods that could harm the environment as well as people. This article would be a perfect source of support for her argument of why the world’s methods of industry have gone awry, though I feel that if this happened in the US it would be stopped.

Expansion—Questions:

1)      Do any events like this occur or have occurred in the US? If so, what and how was/is this situation fixed? If not, how can our nation help stop what is going on in China?

2)      Why are the manufacturing officials China allowed to ignore the health of their own people for industry?

3)      What are the specific names of the companies that are responsible for the lead poisonings (maybe toy companies like Barbie; battery companies like Duracell, etc.)? How are the worldwide leaders of those companies dealing with the pollution in China?