Fluoride, arsenic and iodine in China's drinking water poisons 50 million people
Fluoride levels in more than 1,000 counties are too high, while arsenic poses a threat to about 600,000 mainlanders, magazine reports
Tens of millions of mainland Chinese are being poisoned by unsafe levels of fluoride and arsenic in drinking water, despite decades of official efforts to improve supplies, state media say.
Elevated fluoride levels were found in the water in more than 1,000 counties across the country at the end of 2013, Oriental Outlook, a magazine affiliated with Xinhua, on Monday quoted a Centre for Disease Control and Prevention expert as saying.
Nearly 21 million people suffered diseases caused by excessive exposure, such as skeletal fluorosis - a painful condition that affects bones and joints and which can cripple in severe cases, according to Gao Yanhui, an expert at the centre's National Centre for Endemic Disease Control. Gao said 87 million people were at risk nationwide.
The worst-hit areas were in the northern plains, with Henan province the most acutely affected, Gao said.
Arsenic poisoning was another concern, with about 600,000 people in 131 counties in about half of the mainland's provinces affected, the report said. Long-term exposure can cause skin problems and lung, bladder, skin and kidney cancer.
Excessive iodine intake due to poor drinking water had put 30 million people at risk of goitre, a figure little changed from a decade ago, when nationwide research put the number at 30.98 million.
The central government had spent hundreds of billions of yuan over the past decade on improving drinking water in rural areas, but local governments were still short of funds to continue the work, the report said.