Nearly 1,000 children with excessive levels of lead in blood in Henan

Almost 1,000 children in Jiyuan City, central Henan province, have shown excessive levels of lead in their blood, state media reported. Local health officials tested 2,743 children living in an area home to dozens of enterprises with smelting facilities. The tests were conducted after another lead poisoning scandal was revealed in neighboring Shaanxi province. Jiyuan party secretary Duan Xizhong said the city government had suspended production at 32 of the 35 electrolytic lead plants and on highly polluting production lines of the remaining plants. All children living within 1,000 meters of the smelters have been relocated and provided with assistance.