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Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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Water spurts from a well near the Dabaoshan mine which, like most in China, has not faced strict environmental controls in recent years. An estimated 460,000 people die prematurely in China each year due to exposure to air and water pollution, according to a 2007 World Bank study. Besides mining for coal, China has a large mine industry around heavy metals used to make batteries, computer parts and other electronic devices.
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#1
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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Shangba village has around 3000 residents who own about 2300 mu (1mu=0.067 hector) of farmland and 350 fishery pools. This village was once rice production base and had the fame of "Village of fish and rice".
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#2
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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The river that starts at the lake near Dabaoshan flows through the town of Shangba. Zhang Jingjing, a lawyer who is helping local residents, said the mine has promised to distribute a few thousand yuan to all villagers every year. Even though the funds will barely cover medical expenses, Zhang says it is an encouraging first step. “This means the mine admits it is polluting the environment,“ he said. “If it did no wrong, it won't give out this money.“
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#3
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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This river carries reddish brown water from a lake near a heavy metals mine through towns in southern China's Shangba region. The flow ranges from a bright shade of orange to a murky white, and the waters are so viscous that they barely ripple in the breeze. “All the fish died, even chickens and ducks that drank from the river died. “ said He Shuncai, a 34-year-old rice farmer, “Last year alone, six people in our village died from cancer and they were in their 30s and 40s.“
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#4
#5
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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A dying plant stands in the contaminated lake near the Dabaoshan mine in the Shangba region. Tests published by a medical lab in July show that the lake and river contain excessive amounts of cadmium, a heavy metal that is a known carcinogen, as well as zinc, which in large quantities can damage the liver and lead to cancer.
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#6
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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Guangdong government and Dabaoshan Mining Co., Ltd. built a canal in 2006 in order to bring water collected from rains and mountain springs in a reservoir to Shangba village, but the open canal and landslide resulted in unsuitability of the water for drinking and cooking.
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#7
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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So the villagers have no choice but to use water in wells they have digged. Test results conducted by Biomed Central showed that the water pumped from wells contains excessive cadmium and zinc. (Picture shows a villager pumps water from a well )
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#8
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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Shangba villager He Kangcai, 60, is among those in the region suffering from stomach cancer. The residents of what some are calling China's “cancer villages“ struggle to pay for medical care, often going into debt to cover pharmaceutical and doctors' bills. “An official did come to give me our compensation, 20 yuan ($3),“ said Liang Xiti, whose husband died of stomach cancer at the age of 46. His medicines alone cost the family 800 yuan a month, she said.
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#9
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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Yun Yaoshun, 82, lives in the town of Shangba and watched her son, 54, and two granddaughters, just 12 and 18, die of cancer of the kidneys and stomach even though these types of cancers rarely affect children. The World Health Organization has suggested that the high rate of such digestive cancers are due to the ingestion of polluted water.
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#10
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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Residents of the Shangba region are trying to be more careful about what water they use. This villager in the town of Liangqiao fills up a barrel with water from an uncontaminated stream. Few families downstream from the Dabaoshan mine have been left untouched by cancer. The most common cancers are those of the stomach, liver, kidney and colon. Cancer incidence rates are not available, but it is sure that they are far higher than the national average.
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#11
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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The lake near the Dabaoshan mine is a murky brown. Heavy metals are not just in the water, but also the food chain. Mounds of tailings from the mine are discarded alongside rice fields throughout the region. “If you test this rice, it will be toxic but we eat it too, otherwise, we will starve,“ said He, the farmer, as he shoveled freshly milled rice into a sack. “Yes, we sell this rice too.“
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#12
Posted on Tue, Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
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China has become the second largest economy of the world with rapid economic growth during the last 30 years, but millions of Chinese sacrifice a lot for that. An estimated 460,000 people die prematurely in China each year due to exposure to air and water pollution, according to a 2007 World Bank study.
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