Major environmental events in 2009 in China
- Source: Global Times
- [16:11 December 23 2009]
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5. 1,000 children tested with high levels of lead in central China
The blood tests of 968 children out of 2,747 under the age of 14 in China's biggest lead smelting base have shown excessive levels of lead in their bodies.
The health bureau of Jiyuan City, in central Henan Province, initiated the tests after a lead poisoning scandal was exposed in neighboring Shaanxi Province.
The city government has suspended production at 32 of the 35 electrolytic lead plants and on the pollution-prone production lines of the other three major factories.
All children living within 1,000 meters of the smelters had been moved away, with allowances and assistance in education provided by the government.
6. Residents protest incinerator project
Local residents in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province hold up slogans in front of a government office building on November 23 to protest against the local government's plan to build incinerators near where they live.
Opposition to a planned incinerator project in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province intensified after hundreds of people staged a protest outside a government office on November 23, demonstrators said.
The 900 million yuan ($132 million) project is being built to replace a refuse landfill that is almost full.
Though the government said the plant would be safe and use internationally advanced equipment, many residents are concerned about the potential health hazards of dioxin emissions, a toxic chemical which can cause cancer in the human body.
The project was halted on December 10 to consider new plans.
Meanwhile, residents were asked to sort their garbage to help with recycling and cut down on the amount of waste in the landfill.
