Cover-Up of Lead Poisoning in Chinese Schools Exposed

An official investigation has uncovered that health and education officials in western China tampered with blood test results for over 250 children affected by dangerous lead poisoning from tainted food, lending credibility to parents' suspicions of a cover-up.

In a shocking revelation, provincial health officials and hospital staff in Gansu Province, China, have been implicated in a scandal involving the manipulation of blood test results for over 250 children suffering from lead poisoning. This admission marks a rare instance of transparency from Chinese authorities regarding serious public health issues.

According to a report released by a special investigative team appointed by the Gansu provincial Communist Party committee, the poisoning originated from powdered pigments used by the school for food coloring. Alarmingly, some of these pigments were marked as inedible and contained more than 20% lead, with lead levels in the children's food exceeding national safety standards by an unprecedented 2,000 times.

The investigation further disclosed negligence on the part of education officials in Tianshui, who overlooked the illegal status of the involved kindergarten and the unauthorized gifts received from an investor. These findings have sparked an uproar among the public, who have long expressed concerns over food safety in China.

Parents, who had previously voiced suspicions about a potential cover-up, sought testing for their children in other provinces out of fear that their health concerns were being dismissed. One child was reported to have elevated lead levels six times over a six-month period without any notification from Tianshui No. 2 People’s Hospital. Disturbingly, the hospital is accused of altering the records of two children, falsely reporting them to have significantly lower lead levels than actually detected.

This scandal not only brings to light the widespread issues within food safety and public health regulations in China but also emphasizes the urgent need for accountability among officials tasked with safeguarding the welfare of the country's children.