Chapter 4 Cadmium poisoning

Cadmium Poisoning (1) Xinma Village, Majiahe Town, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province is an ordinary and simple town on the banks of the Xiangjiang River, with more than 1,000 residents who have been farming for generations.Originally, this was a typical village with beautiful scenery and beautiful mountains and clear waters. However, since the beginning of 2006, the villagers here have been shrouded in the shadow of strange diseases.The food cannot be eaten, the water cannot be drunk, and the life of the villagers is in panic... Xinma Village has a large area of ​​idle rice fields. In August, the rice fields should be green and it is the harvest season.However, the rice fields here are overgrown with weeds, and no one wants to cultivate them, and no one dares to cultivate them, because the rice grown here is no longer edible.Not only rice, but also vegetables, fruits, water...and people all suffered from large-scale cadmium poisoning.The worst cases have died.Zimo: How many people are there in the village?

Shi Maoxiu (villager): 1,670 people. Zimo: How much urine cadmium exceeds the standard? Shi Maoxiu: There are more than 700 people in our village, and there are 3 resident groups outside, a total of more than 1,100 people exceeded the standard. Zimo: Where did this number come from? Shi Maoxiu: The figures released by the government after testing.Shi Maoxiu is the village representative elected by the villagers of Xinma Village after a large-scale cadmium poisoning occurred.According to her, the villagers' initial fear of cadmium came from the sudden death of 66-year-old Luo Shaokun in the village. On the fifth day of the first month of 2006, Luo Shaokun passed away without the cause being found after more than two months of treatment.After Luo Shaokun passed away, Zheng Xinyun, daughter-in-law, sent her seriously ill sister-in-law to the Hunan Provincial Labor and Welfare Institute Hospital for examination. It was found that three indicators including urine cadmium and urine lead were seriously exceeded. Zheng Xinyun also conducted laboratory tests, which were also seriously exceeded.They called the remaining 7 people in the family and all found the same problem.They began to realize that there might be a problem with drinking water.

Just next door to Luo's house, there is a Zhuzhou Longteng Industrial Co., Ltd., which produces a series of chrome-plated products such as motorcycle racks and front bumpers.According to Zheng Xinyun, in 1998, waste water discharged by Longteng Industrial polluted the drinking water well of Luo’s family. After testing by the Zhuzhou City Environmental Protection Bureau, the well water was no longer drinkable, so Longteng Industrial Company built water pipes to bring tap water to Luo’s family for drinking.Zimo: What happened to the well water at that time? Zheng Xinyun: Well water is blue.The waste water from the factory seeped in.

Zimo: Has the manufacturer admitted that the blue color of the well water is related to their pollution? Zheng Xinyun: Admittedly, the manufacturer provides tap water for us to drink. Zimo: Did the manufacturer propose it on its own initiative? Zheng Xinyun: It was the Environmental Protection Bureau who did the test and asked them to connect us with tap water. On January 11, 2006, the Luo family discovered that the tap water in their home had turned blue again. Afterwards, all the Luo family members suffered from abdominal pain and vomiting to varying degrees. Luo Shaokun died 20 days later.Zheng Xinyun speculated that since the water pipe passed under the company's waste water pool, it was likely that the water was polluted again due to a damaged pipe.Zheng Xinyun said that after Luo Shaokun died of an unknown condition, the family members approached the local town government to request an autopsy, but the government approached Luo Shaokun’s son several times to discuss not to have an autopsy, but in the end the autopsy was not carried out, and Luo’s family received a 1,000 yuan subsidy from the government.Zimo: What illness did your father-in-law have when he passed away?

Zheng Xinyun: Tracheitis, stomachache. Zimo: Is it related to excessive urine cadmium? Zheng Xinyun: Yes.Experts say that excessive cadmium can cause bronchitis, damage to liver and kidney function, dizziness, anemia, and so on. Anyway, they are all related to cadmium. Zimo: How did you know these things? Zheng Xinyun: We learned from the Changsha Labor Welfare Institute Hospital that the doctors of the Labor Welfare Institute ran a blackboard newspaper. Zimo: What is the test result of the tap water in your home by the Environmental Protection Agency? Zheng Xinyun: Iron exceeds the standard, acid exceeds the standard, and cadmium exceeds the standard.More than 10 times.

Zimo: What is the reason for tap water exceeding the standard? Zheng Xinyun: Wastewater must have come. Zimo: Is there any reason to suspect that the waste water came over? Zheng Xinyun: Our family and neighbors went into the factory and found that the water pipes passed through the waste water. Zimo: How many people in the family went to check the urine for cadmium? Zheng Xinyun: 8 of them, all of which were found to have exceeded the standard for cadmium.I exceeded the standard by 26, my sister-in-law exceeded the standard by 36, others had 24, 23, 18... the highest was 36, and the lowest was 10.Regardless of toxicity or accumulation, cadmium is the third heavy metal element that pollutes the environment and threatens human health after mercury and lead. In the 1930s, one of the pollution diseases in Japan, "Pain Disease", was the most typical example of chronic cadmium poisoning. At that time, a strange disease broke out in a large area in the Jinzugawa River Basin in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. Patients suffered from muscle atrophy, joint deformation, and bone pain. fell asleep, and suffered a pathological fracture resulting in death.After investigation and research, the reason was that the cadmium-containing wastewater and tailings from a lead-zinc mine in the upper reaches of Shentongchuan polluted the river, and the farmland in the lower reaches was irrigated with river water, polluting the soil.After what happened to the Luo family, the villagers began to panic.Shi Maoxiu: We checked the information. Excessive cadmium and cadmium poisoning can cause emphysema, cancer, anemia, osteoporosis, cramps, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. Any disease can be caused.

Zimo: Will everyone panic? Shi Maoxiu: I was quite panicked.There is a boy who is a little older than my son. He is 28 this year. He finally found a girlfriend, ten miles away from us. They have a good talk and are planning to get married.Later, I heard that this place has become a polluted area, and he has seriously exceeded the standard of cadmium, so the woman proposed to break up, let's not talk about it.The boy was so sad, saying that he might be a bachelor for the rest of his life. Zimo: What kind of impact will the excessive cadmium have on your village? Shi Maoxiu: Some people have lost their labor force.In terms of production, as announced by the government, land exceeds the standard by 100%, vegetables exceed the standard by 80%, and rice exceeds the standard by 93.8%.We cannot eat rice, drink water, eat vegetables, cultivate land, and the common people can hardly survive.The villagers almost unanimously believe that the cadmium poisoning is caused by the pollution of the water source, and the polluter is Zhuzhou Longteng Industrial Co., Ltd., a private enterprise located in the village. In April 2006, the government of Tianyuan District, Zhuzhou City seized Longteng Industrial Co., Ltd. In early May, the company started working secretly at night. Angry villagers spontaneously organized and ran to the factory, smashing the gates, stairs, glass, etc., and then went into the factory to investigate secretly. As a result, four hidden wells were found. It was these four sewage wells without any sewage treatment that polluted the groundwater.Zimo: How do you know there is a hidden well in the factory?

Shi Maoxiu: After the incident was exposed, so many people exceeded the cadmium standard, the local people smashed up the factory, and after the smashing, they searched everywhere for the sewage outlet, but they couldn't find it.A well digger named Hu Zhijun said that he knew that there must be a hidden well inside.As a result, there were 4 wells, one of which was more than ten meters deep, and they covered it with something. After removing the things, they found that all the waste and waste water were inside.The common people are very angry.According to the villagers, Longteng Industrial Co., Ltd. used a large pipe to discharge part of the waste water directly into the Xiangjiang River.Not a single blade of grass grew on the land washed by the sewage, and several villagers living near the sewage outlet died of cancer.One of them was only 36 years old and died of liver cancer a year ago.Another family's son's liver and kidney function atrophy.The youngest daughter of Liu Gui'an, who lives nearby, is currently being treated at Hunan Children's Hospital for cadmium poisoning.Zimo: How did Zhuzhou City People's Hospital diagnose your daughter's condition in the first place?

Liu Gui'an: My daughter was treated at Zhuzhou People's Hospital for 5 days, but there was no progress. The doctor was very anxious and suggested that I be transferred to a larger hospital for treatment.I asked him, what disease does my daughter have?He said that your daughter may have three problems. The first is cadmium poisoning, the second is severe damage to kidney function, and the third is hemolytic anemia.But they couldn't find out the reason, and they didn't know what caused it, because they didn't know much about cadmium poisoning. Zimo: Did my daughter's condition continue to deteriorate during those five days?

Liu Guian: The condition is getting worse day by day, and the hemoglobin has dropped from 8 to 7 to 5. Zimo: What does 5 o'clock mean? Liu Guian: It means that my daughter will lose her life at any time. Zimo: How long has it been since you were transferred to the Children's Hospital? Liu Gui'an: On July 27, he was transferred to the Children's Hospital and stayed there for more than ten days. Zimo: Has your body recovered? Liu Gui'an: Two days earlier, his condition suddenly deteriorated, his whole body was swollen, and he was lying on the hospital bed and could not move at all.I was so sad and thought my daughter might be lost.

Zimo: Is there any relationship between her daughter's critical illness and excessive urine cadmium? Liu Gui'an: The doctor didn't give me a certificate in this regard, and they didn't show me the materials.He just told me that my daughter was critically ill and gave me a critical illness notice.Data show that cadmium poisoning is a disease caused by environmental pollution, and the incubation period in the human body can reach 10 to 30 years. It is a chronic poisoning disease.It can cause severe damage to liver and kidney functions, and most patients have symptoms of anemia.According to national regulations, the urinary cadmium content in the human body cannot exceed 5ug/g, and the urinary cadmium content of Xinma Village villagers exceeds 15ug/g, and there are more than 400 people who seriously exceed the standard. Cadmium Poisoning (2) According to the statistics of the villagers themselves, from 2003 to now, a total of 18 people in Xinma Village have suffered from cancer, and 17 of them have died.The situation in Xinma Village has attracted the attention of the local government.The government organized villagers to undergo medical examinations in batches, and more than 1,100 villagers were confirmed to have cadmium poisoning, but most of these villagers who had cadmium poisoning did not see their own test results.Zimo: How many days did the inspection last? Shi Maoxiu: In the first few times, there were 50 inspections, and then there was a census. Everyone checked. The results showed that there were more than 460 people who were over 15, more than 600 people who were under 15, and more than 400 people who were over 5 and under 15. Zimo: Did any of the people who participated in the test exceed the standard? Shi Maoxiu: In this case, the children's exceeding points are not very high, and the number of children is not large.However, we ordinary people are a little skeptical about this, because during the first batch of physical examinations, three children were checked together with the adults, and it was found that one was 25 points, one was 21 points, and the other was 24.8 points.When the adult with three children heard that the children had also exceeded the standard, the expression on his face was almost crazy.As a result, after the inspection, no child was found to exceed the standard. Zimo: What kind of people can get the test results, and what kind of people can't get the test results? Shi Maoxiu: The 170 people who started the investigation got the results, and we copied the test results at the health and epidemic prevention station.Later, more than 1,000 people did not get the test results, only a serial number. Zimo: What about the test results of the 170 people? Shi Maoxiu: 27 points exceeded the standard, and the lowest was 5.13 points.But the result is hard to say. Peng Biyun, who was read out in the first batch, only had 23 points, but when he came to the Provincial Labor and Welfare Office for reexamination, his blood cadmium was 30.06 points. Zimo: Has everyone in the village been checked? Shi Maoxiu: No, there were 16 villager groups in our village, and 4 of them did not have a census, and only one person from each household was selected for inspection.Longteng Company is the highest position in our village, and the four groups of them are relatively far away. The government will select one person from each household to check, and everyone has exceeded the standard.Liu Guian's home is far away from Longteng Industrial Co., Ltd., so their family only selected his wife for inspection, but in the end they didn't get the inspection results, but they were told that they belonged to the category of seriously exceeding the standard.During the treatment of his youngest daughter, Liu Gui'an paid for a test at his own expense. The test result showed that the urine cadmium was 18.2ug/g, which was seriously exceeded.His eldest daughter was also feeling unwell, but Liu Guian no longer dared to face the reality that both children were sick.Zimo: Will the eldest daughter also have excessive urine cadmium? Liu Guian: I am also worried about this, but I dare not think about it.I'm exhausted for my younger daughter, and I can't imagine my older daughter (who is also sick), not even thinking about it.I just took her to the township hospital for a routine checkup.My eldest daughter always complained of stomach pains, and the doctor said her left kidney showed signs of cysts.I listened to it at the time and couldn't accept this fact. I hope it's all fake. Zimo: But the eldest daughter already has a kidney cyst, so if we don’t give her a checkup, what if the condition gets worse in the future? Liu Gui'an: I've considered this too, but the economy doesn't allow it. My youngest daughter's life is in danger at any time. Now I'm not allowed to devote my energy and financial resources to the urine cadmium test for my eldest daughter.The large-scale cadmium poisoning incident in Xinma Village has also attracted the attention of environmental protection departments at all levels.Experts from a certain department came to take soil samples, water samples, and samples of vegetables and millet for testing.The test results came out more than a month later, but the specific test data was retained by the town government, and the village was only notified verbally.The oral conclusion is roughly six points: 1. The air contains high cadmium; 2. The soil itself contains cadmium; 3. The cadmium content of Longteng Company's sewage outlet and the surrounding soil is higher than that of other soils in Xinma Village; 4. Cereals and leafy vegetables cannot be eaten, only melons and fruits can be eaten; 5. The water does not contain cadmium; 6. Longteng Company's sewage discharge is not up to standard. Zimo: Has anyone told you what you should pay attention to in your life? Shi Maoxiu: The government told us that we should not eat the local rice and vegetables with green leaves, and it is best not to even cultivate the land.I heard that the excess of melons and fruits seems to be less, but the test only said that green leafy vegetables cannot be eaten, and we don't know whether the melons and fruits can be eaten. Zimo: How to solve the water problem? Shi Maoxiu: The government announced that water is edible, but we ordinary people don't believe it, and they didn't show us the test results.I heard that more than 100 wells were tested, and the water in many wells could not be eaten.But the test results were not shown to us, and we insisted that the water was edible, but we ordinary people did not dare to eat it, because the water was purple-blue after being pumped out. On April 12, 2006, the local government asked the villagers to stop drinking groundwater and instead distributed free and unlimited purified water to villagers several times a day.However, the government's water delivery operation stopped after 3 months, and the groundwater here was declared drinkable again.The villagers can’t believe it. They dare not drink the water from their own wells. Most of the people’s daily important work is to go outside to collect or buy water, but this kind of water can only be used for drinking. The domestic water such as washing is still used in their own wells. in the water. Zimo: How much water did the government send every day? Shi Maoxiu: 8 cars, 8 cars on the street in the city. Zimo: Is it enough? Shi Maoxiu: Not bad. Zimo: Why did it stop? Shi Maoxiu: I stopped drinking the water when I said it was edible. Zimo: Can water be eaten? Shi Maoxiu: The common people are worried.Some asked acquaintances to test and found that cadmium and lead exceeded the standard.The tester said that this water must not be eaten.Now we have to fetch water to eat from thousands of meters away.If you have a motorcycle, you can buy a plastic bucket, put it on the car, and bring water back to eat. "Soil, water, and soil" are closely related. Can the soil be cultivated and the water be eaten?The sewage has flowed into our wells, and ordinary people dare not eat it. Zimo: How much does it cost to buy water outside? Shi Maoxiu: 25 kilograms of water per bucket, one yuan per bucket.However, the land cannot be cultivated, and it costs money to buy water, making it difficult for the villagers to maintain their livelihoods.Some villagers in Xinma Village sell the poisonous crops to the urban area at a cheap price, and then buy enough food from the urban area at the market price to go home. The contaminated food is spreading.Although the government has taken some measures to try to prevent the villagers from doing this, the instinct of survival has made conscience less important.Zimo: How many people in the village sell their vegetables outside? Shi Maoxiu: We have a residential area that mainly grows vegetables, and they sell all the vegetables outside. There are probably dozens of households.In other places, more than half of the villagers make a living selling vegetables. Zimo: Does anyone buy your vegetables? Zheng Xinyun: Yes, pick them up in the city. Zimo: Why is my family afraid to eat it? Zheng Xinyun: The Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said it was poisonous. Zimo: Then you sell it to others? Zheng Xinyun: I have no choice. Zimo: Did the government stop it? Shi Maoxiu: Yes, let us not take the vegetables to the market to sell.People in the city said that the vegetables from Xinma Village were sold in our city and poisoned our residents.I went to the city government to make a fuss, and the government issued an order to ask the township government to take away all our vegetables, take away cartloads of vegetables, and throw them away.But ordinary people continue to sell vegetables in order to survive. Zimo: Don’t you think it’s against your conscience to do so? Shi Maoxiu: It is a bit of a violation of conscience, but the government has solved our problem, so we won't sell vegetables like this.Otherwise, what do ordinary people do for a living?If the government does not solve the problem, there is nothing we can do. Zimo: Have you ever wondered what would happen to others if they ate these dishes? Shi Maoxiu: I thought about it, but there is nothing we can do.If the government helped us solve the problem, or allowed us to live on subsistence allowances, or how much money each family paid, we would not grow and sell vegetables.What should we ordinary people do?There is no way, we still have to rely on the government, if the government can solve it, we will solve it, if it can't solve it, we may go to Beijing to sue, we have to survive. Zimo: Have you reported these issues to the government? Shi Maoxiu: It has been reflected, we have already petitioned the municipal government 6 times. Zimo: Are you satisfied with the government's answer? Shi Maoxiu: I am definitely not satisfied. If we are satisfied, we will stop petitioning. Once we go, there will be five or six hundred people. Zimo’s comment: The head and secretary of Xinma Village didn’t seem to welcome us.For unknown reasons, both of them politely declined the request for an interview.In fact, both the village head of Xinma Village and his own son had exceeded the standard of urine cadmium.Moreover, the village chief once publicly stated that what he is most concerned about is the sexual dysfunction of children in the future and the spread of poisonous food, because no one knows that the rice and vegetables sold in the market will flow to where?Who will be harmed?I hope that the villagers in Xinma Village can learn the truth about the pollution as soon as possible, and get timely, effective and reasonable treatment as soon as possible.