OVER 200 CHILDREN HAVE BEEN poisoned by lead from an unlicensed battery plant in Anhui Province, eastern China, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Initially, a small number of children were found to have an unusually high level of lead in their blood on Christmas Eve.
The discovery prompted the testing of 280 children, of whom over 200 aged between nine months and 16 years had high lead levels in their blood.
Twenty-eight children have been hospitalised.
The battery factory which was the source of the lead poisoning and a second battery plant nearby have been closed by environmental authorities.
Xinhua did not disclose how the children were exposed to the lead, but it can be breathed in in small quantities or ingested after coming into contact with contamination.
Lead poisoning most commonly occurs over a period of time, with lead building up slowly in the body. In children, it can harm mental development and cause abdominal pains, headaches, tiredness and loss of appetite. The Mayo Clinic says that symptoms usually do not manifest until dangerously high levels of lead have built up.
Serious cases of lead poisoning can cause permanent damage and death.
Reuters reports that in 2009, protesters attacked a smelting plant they believed caused the lead poisoning of over 600 children.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say