Hundreds of thousands of children in China are permanently disabled after being poisoned by lead, according to a report that underlines the human cost of the battle against pollution in the world’s second-largest economy.
Over several decades China’s industrial boom has caused widespread contamination by heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, resulting in a silent health epidemic that can be difficult to spot. Symptoms are subtle and easily confused with other illnesses.
According to the report from Human Rights Watch, the campaign group, local government officials routinely cover up poisoning outbreaks and in some cases health workers lie to patients about the lead levels in their blood.