Vietnamnet.vn
Podcast
These children were infected with lead because of the polluted environment. A lot of families in Chi Dao have produced lead from used batteries for tens of years. This job has harmed their children.
Mr. Trinh Van Hien, Vice Chair of Chi Dao commune, said 4-5 years ago, a hundred of lead kilns were burnt on every afternoon. Smoke and dust made mist on roads. To see the road, drivers had to turn on lamps.
This job is very hazardous but local residents only protected themselves by wearing gloves when they chopped up used batteries to collect lead and melted lead in kilns. They poured waste in lakes, fields and used it to level the ground to build houses. They lived naturally with lead.
Tests in 2007-2009 showed that lead poisoning in Chi Dao commune was very high. It was sometimes 10 times more than the permitted level. Fish, vegetable and fruits in this commune were also infected with lead.
The Medical and Environmental Sanitation Institute recently made quick tests for 109 kids at the age of 1-10 in the commune. All kids were infected with lead.
Mr. Lo Van Tung, who was in charge of the tests, said that according to American standards, the lead content in blood of kids must not be higher than 10mcg/dl but the lead content in blood of 100 percent of kids in Chi Dao was 18.9 to 74.52mcg/dl, including 39 kids with lead content of over 40mcg/dl, the alarming level.
Dr. Pham Due from the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital said that lead infection can cause liver and kidney failure. More dangerously, lead-infected kids may suffer from Alzheimer syndrome when they grow up.
The number of kids who were tested is one third of the total kids in Chi Dao commune.
Two children of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tach, who has processed lead for 7-8 years, had high lead content. It was 64mcg/dl for Le Thi Huong, 7, and 74.5mcg/dl for Le Ngoc Chuan, 3.
Ms. Le Thi Xuan’s youngest son, 3, also had high lead content in his body, 60mcg/dl. Xuan said that she had just taken her son to Bach Mai Hospital for blood filter. Her 24-year-old son is dull.
Local residents now wish to be assisted to remove lead kilns out of their villages and to treat their children.
Le Ha
.svg){kind=icon}
