Dangerous levels of heavy metals have been found in a significant proportion of seafood in one of China's major fish-producing areas, prompting officials to warn of the potential harmful impact on human health, state media reported. A local environment monitoring centre investigation of four major freshwater lakes and offshore areas of eastern Jiangsu province showed cadmium, lead, mercury, chromium and zinc were present in 41% of all fish. Seashells, shellfish and large fish were the most severely contaminated. Disposed chemical products and poisonous industrial discharges were the main sources of the pollution.
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