With scores of farmers sick and 20 already dead, a village 300
kilometers northeast of Nanjing has become known as the cancer
village of Jiangsu
Province.
Authorities suspect serious pollution is behind the high
concentration of cancer cases.
The Funing County environmental bureau began an in-depth
investigation after the media trained its spotlight on Yangqiao
Village in Funing County. Other related departments are assisting
the bureau.
The village’s agricultural pesticide factory and two chemical
plants all emit a noxious odor and produce wastewater day and
night. Many residents believe that chemicals from the factories are
behind the cancer epidemic in the village.
A county government official surnamed Zhou said recently that
scientists and other experts will be invited to make a thorough
investigation of the village.
An official surnamed Yang from the county’s environmental bureau
said the government and the bureau would work together. But Zhou
and Yang agreed that it would take time to check for a connection
between the high rate of cancer and the chemical pollution.
To date, the local health department has not been officially
notified of the situation.
According to Nanjing’s Jiangnan Times, an affiliate of
the Beijing-based People’s Daily, more than 80 percent of
the villagers complain of an awful odor that makes them feel very
uncomfortable and leads to breathing problems and dizziness. Old
people and children often suffer coughs and constricted chests.
Waste from the chemical plants has seriously polluted the river
that runs through the village and all the local wells. Even the tap
water smells of agricultural chemicals.
Residents say many of their dogs and cats have died after
drinking water or eating fish from the river.
(China Daily May 10, 2004)