There are approximately 250 "cancer villages" in China. Weili Village in Zhejiang Province, a major center of children's clothing manufacturing, is also a "cancer village. The term "cancer village" refers to an area where drinking water is contaminated with highly carcinogenic and toxic chemicals and heavy metals due to illegal drainage, and where the incidence of severe diseases, such as cancer and unexplained incurable diseases, and death rates are high. The existence of "cancer villages" was finally recognized by the central government last June.

In the case of the village of Buli in Zhejiang Province, Chinese environmental groups claim that toxic substances discarded by some textile and dyeing factories are causing "cancer." However, all the factories discharge into the same river. This means that it is impossible to distinguish between factories that are polluting the river and those that are not. Environmental groups have no authority to investigate, so they say that compelling data can only be obtained if enforcement is carried out by police or health authorities.

The local government in Zhejiang Province has also been criticized for not trying to get a better grasp of the actual situation. "As a local government official, the priority is to develop the local economy, Personnel changes in senior management will take place in a very short period of time. Rather than sitting on their hands and making cumbersome public policies, they want to focus on economic growth, which will bring higher tax revenues in a short period of time, This is the reason", environmental groups point out.

Many of the residents who have complained of health problems are farmers and fishermen. "If the fact that this village is suffering from many diseases and deaths due to soil and groundwater contamination spreads, we will not be able to sell our agricultural products, fish, and livestock, and we will not be able to survive, So, we don't want people to know that we are a "cancer village”." This is a complicated situation.

Shipped vegetables, fish, and meat are exported to various parts of China and the world, both as fresh food and as processed food. The "Cancer Village" in Zhejiang Province reveals the composition that when the safety of clothing is neglected, even food safety is compromised.

中国衛生部によると、中国は”出生欠陥高発­生国家”であり、毎年新たに生まれる障害を持った乳児は、およそ90万人です。その発生率は約­5.6％にのぼります。２０人に１人の割合です。出生時の障害が、乳児の死亡原因の第2位になっています。原因として環境汚染の深刻­化や食の安全が保証されていないことが指摘されています。

(END)