More than 600 cases of lead poisoning were reported in eastern China, which regards a hundred children under 15 years, reported Xinhua news agency Sunday. This figure, given by the regional health authorities, is the result of tests performed on employees of 25 metal workshops in Yangxunqiao in Zhejiang Province.
“The workers and their families, including children, are constantly exposed to materials containing lead in family workshops,” said agency official, adding that a dozen children were hospitalized. The 103 children had a rate of at least 250 micrograms of lead per liter of blood. Severe cases of poisoning, with a rate of more than 600 micrograms per liter, affecting 26 adults.