Lead Pollutionand the future of China’s environment

Iris Zhou, Beijing, Summer 2011

Zhejiang – June 2011

233 adults, 99 children poisoned by local lead acid battery (LAB) factory

>200 people gathered in riot

Major Lead Industries

Miners/Smelters◦Primary smelters◦Secondary smelters

Lead Acid Batteries◦Manufacturing◦Assembly◦Recycling

PoisoningMore children affected

Prevents proper nervous system development

No treatment effective if pollution source not eliminated

Government support inconsistent

City Air

Rural Air Respiratory System

Soil Circulatory System

Food

Lead Poisoning Pathway

A Golden Opportunity?

Approval of the 12th 5-Year Plan for Heavy Metal Pollution

Massive close down of noncompliant factories – “environmental protection storm”

Data collection about all LAB factories

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

US environmental NGOSpecializes in public interest litigationInternational offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, and India

Hunan

Henan

Yunna

nHeb

ei

Shaa

nxi

Guang

xiHub

ei

Inner

Mongoli

a

Liaon

ingAnh

ui

Gansu

Guang

dong

Jiang

su

Qingha

i

Sichu

an

Xinjian

g

Chong

qing

Fujia

n

Ningxia

Shan

dong

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Number of Smelters by Province

Province

Num

ber

YunnanPoor but rich mineral resources

Known for lax environmental policies

Plans to increase lead/zinc stores by 10 million tons in 3 years

Lessons Learned

Sensitivity of environmental issuesLimited power of NGOsA sense of urgency

Thank you!PiA, PEI, Tina, NRDC