Investigation team formed after media exposes 'cancer village'

Wuhan in Hubei province announced a joint investigation team on Tuesday in response to environmental issues at the "cancer village" in its Xinzhou district that were recently exposed by the media.

Of Huangtupo village's humble population of 585, more than 60 have been diagnosed with leukemia and other forms of cancer. Most of the patients are young and middle-aged people under 50 years old. Since 2015, 34 cases have been confirmed, including 19 deaths and 15 patients receiving treatment, according to a report of Elephant News, a media platform belonging to Henan TV.

Villagers believe that pollution from the Changsheng Water Glass Factory in the northern part of the village is to blame.

Water glass is a mineral adhesive made from sodium silicate. It is widely used to waterproof buildings and plug leaks, and can be found on cartons and paper products. Though water glass itself is low-toxic, its wastewater is heavily polluted.

Founded in 1986 and later shifting to water glass production, the factory has not obtained complete environmental protection formalities, including environmental impact assessment approval or pollutant discharge permits, according to the report.

The investigation team will launch a comprehensive probe into the villagers' health conditions, ecological environment, accusations that the factory continued to operate after being told to shut down, and other related issues. The results will be released to the public in a timely manner, according to a notice released by local authorities.

Zhang Jianyong, a villager representative, told Elephant News that tap water was only accessible in the village in 2016, and residents had long drunk groundwater before that.