China Lead Poisoning May Boost State Scrutiny

SHANGHAI, Aug. 21 -- China, the world's largest producer of lead, may intensify scrutiny of companies making the metal after two smelters poisoned over 2,000 children, said a state- backed metals researcher.

    "Though it's too early to gauge the impact on lead production, the accidents may affect market sentiment," an analyst said today.

    As many as 1,354 children living near the Wugang Manganese Smelting Plant in Hunan province were found with lead that exceeded the "normal" level of 100 micrograms per liter of blood, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing an unidentified city official. Hunan, in central China, is the country's second- largest producer of the metal.

    Authorities shut the Wugang plant in Wenping on Aug. 13 after suspending its operations on July 31, Xinhua said. Following the shutdown, Wugang's government ordered more than 100 plants in the city to be overhauled, Xinhua said.

    The results of tests follow a protest at a zinc and lead smelter in Shaanxi province, where 851 sick children were found to have above-normal amounts of lead in their blood. Hundreds of villagers broke into the Dongling Lead & Zinc Smelting Co.'s plant in Changqing, saying the factory poisoned local children, Xinhua said.

    The Dongling Lead & Zinc Smelting Co. "is very small in lead capacity," this analst said.

    (Source: Bloomberg)