Shanghai announces that children's blood lead exceeds the standard findings Johnson Controls is a source of pollution

On February 25, the Shanghai Municipal Government formally announced the results of the investigation of blood lead overabundance among some children in Kangqiao, Pudong, and determined that this was a public health emergency triggered by the increase in lead in the environment. The competent government department will investigate the relevant company's responsibility according to law.

At the beginning of September last year, children in Kangqiao District had routinely found that blood levels of lead in children exceeded their normal targets during routine medical examinations before entering the school and entering school. Since then, blood tests have been carried out on 1,306 children in the local area, and 49 children have been found to have excessive blood lead levels, among which children aged 1 to 3 years are predominant.

After the incident, the leaders of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government attached great importance and requested to actively treat children with excessive levels of blood lead in accordance with the attitude of being highly responsible for the lives and health of the people, thoroughly investigate the sources of blood lead incidents in accordance with the law, and ensure that the health and safety of the people are not affected. . At present, the overall improvement in the treatment of 49 children has progressed smoothly. There are still 3 people who need to be hospitalized and the condition is gradually improving.

After the incident, the Pudong New Area Government immediately launched an investigation, formulated a plan for emergency response and organized the implementation. In order to further clarify the causes of the incident, the municipal government set up a joint investigation team composed of the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, the Municipal Health Bureau, the Municipal Science Commission, and the Municipal Government Legislative Affairs Office to comprehensively investigate the status of lead pollution in the Kangqiao area, children’s blood lead levels exceeding the standards, and the environment. Lead-related pollution and other aspects of the situation. He also invited authoritative experts in the fields of environmental protection and health in China to evaluate the investigation reports prepared by relevant units.

The investigation shows that there are three major lead-related companies in Kangqiao area, namely Shanghai Johnson Controls International Battery Co., Ltd., Shanghai Xinmingyuan Auto Parts Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Kangshuo Waste and Materials Utilization Co., Ltd. The survey found that Johnson Controls Inc. has expanded production scale without approval, and there is a phenomenon of emission of excessive lead in exhaust gas; Xinmingyuan Company arbitrarily adjusted the production process and added lead alloy balance block production; Kangshuo Company mainly engaged in recycling of waste materials, the northeast corner of the plant The concentration of lead and zinc in the soil in the area exceeds the prescribed standard.

According to joint surveys and expert assessments, the geographical distribution characteristics of children with blood lead exceeding standards are basically consistent with the distribution characteristics of soil and atmospheric lead. Children's blood lead levels are related to lead pollution in the environment; blood lead levels are mainly due to children's exposure to lead dust in the environment. Ingested by the digestive system, this is related to the physiological characteristics and habits of children, especially children 1-3.

The joint investigation and expert assessment also determined that the increase in lead in the environment of Kangqiao area was mainly due to the long-term accumulation of lead pollutants discharged by enterprises such as Johnson Controls and Xinmingyuan, among which the Johnson Controls company is the area. The main source of lead pollutant emissions. According to the distribution of children with excessive blood lead levels, atmospheric lead emissions, and lead accumulation in soil, the children's blood lead levels in the Kangqiao area are significantly related to the lead emissions of Johnson Controls, and have a certain correlation with lead emissions from Xinmingyuan. In addition, other sources of lead pollution, such as Kangshuo, also have an impact on the environment.

After the incident, the relevant departments of this Municipality and the Pudong New Area took emergency measures for companies involved in lead emissions and immediately asked Johnson Controls and Xinmingyuan to stop their activities involving lead production. In response to Kang Shuo’s withdrawal from the original site, the government of Pudong New Area has ordered Kangshuo to fix the contaminated soil in the original site within a time limit.

It is understood that the Pudong New Area Government will comprehensively assess the environmental status of the Kangqiao area, implement industrial restructuring of relevant companies involved in lead-related industries, and proceed with the rehabilitation of lead-contaminated soil to ensure the residents' environmental safety. According to relevant sources, Shanghai will study and adjust the industrial structure of the lead-related industry, formulate emission standards for air pollutants in the lead-acid battery industry, and strengthen the lead pollutant monitoring system to avoid recurrence of similar incidents.