Tests confirm widespread lead poisoning

Medical tests have shown at least 121 children living near a battery plant in eastern China are suffering from lead poisoning, the latest in a string of such cases that have affected thousands.

Two medical agencies tested 287 children under 14 years of age and found 121 of them had excessive levels of lead in their blood, the government of Shanghang county in Fujian province said in a statement over the weekend. An investigation was ongoing, it said.

The statement said that 120 children had lead levels between 100 and 200 micrograms per liter of blood and one child had 218 mcg/l.