CDC finds cancer link to Huai River
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A cow lies dead in the Huai River in Anhui Province in May 2009. [CFP] |
New findings by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding links between pollution and cancerous tumors could help people in hazard-hit areas win lawsuits and get compensation, analysts said Tuesday.
After five years of research and studies, "we have basic evidence to show that there are connections between pollution and some tumor cases in areas along the Huai River," Yang Gonghuan, deputy director of the CDC, told the Caijing Magazine reported Monday.
"We focused not only on industrial pollution, but also on agricultural pollution and other forms of pollution in daily lives," he added.
Yang told the Global Times that the CDC has designed methods to help more villagers along the Huai River fight cancer.
"We trained local doctors who can diagnose cancer in early stages, improving the chance of better treatments," Yang said.
Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times that the CDC findings will greatly help China's environmental protection because they could help link a disease with a specific form of pollution.
Wang Canfa, director of the Beijing-based Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, told the Global Times that villagers suffering from cancer could try to seek compensation from polluters or local governments after obtaining evidence connecting their disease to pollution.
However, Wang pointed out that only a few courts are likely to accept these cases due to it being a relatively complex process.
The Huai is a major river in China.
Originating in Henan Province, it flows through Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, and is one of the fastest-developing regions in China.
Yang noted that an inspection mechanism had been established to collect the data, some of which will be published in the near future.
"This is in line with an objective set by the State Council in 2005 to develop a system monitoring the environment and heath," he told Caijing.
According to Caijing, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in 2004 ordered the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of En-vironmental Protection, Ministry of Water Resources, the National Development and reform Commission and local governments along the Huai River to investigate and find solutions to reported cases of cancer outbreaks in the region.
In one instance of a "cancer village," more than 80 people died from 2001 to 2008 of various cancers in Dongxing village in the city of Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, according to a report by the Southern Metropolis Daily (SMD).
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