Party scolds official for blaming lead poisoning of 300 children on 'chewing pencils'
A Chinese government official was ridiculed by the Communist Party today after saying lead poisoning in more than 300 children could be due to them chewing school pencils.
The real cause turned out to be water contamination from a local chemical plant, according to Xinhua news agency. But Su Genlin, the chief of Dapu township, had told stated broadcaster CCTV: “Kids use pencils in school and chewing pencils could also cause the excessive [lead] levels.”
Lead levels as high as three times national standards were found in the blood of children in a village in the central province of Hunan, with the contamination blamed on pollution from a local chemical plant, the official news agency Xinhua reported.
It is scientific knowledge that pencils are made from graphite
The factory has been closed down for investigation, local officials said.
In Chinese, the character for the heavy metal is also used in the word for pencil, in the same way that “lead” has a double meaning in English.
Communist Party mouthpiece , blasted the official in an op-ed published today.
“It is scientific knowledge that pencils are made from graphite,” the article by commentator Zhang Yusheng said. “Does this official’s statement show ignorance, or just disregard for the people’s welfare?”
Chinese internet users also mocked the official. “How can such low IQ cadres appear in public?” asked author Cui Chenghao on Weibo.
China’s rapid industrialisation over the past 30 years has left the country with widespread environmental damage that has taken a heavy toll on public health.
Recent studies have shown that roughly two-thirds of China’s soil is estimated to be polluted and that 60 per cent of underground water is too contaminated to drink.
In 2011, authorities in the eastern province of Zhejiang detained 74 people and suspended work at hundreds of factories after 172 people – including 53 children fell ill with lead poisoning.
US battery maker Johnson Controls was in 2012 blamed for lead pollution in the commercial hub of Shanghai, after 49 children were diagnosed with lead poisoning.
