&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Poison, lies and coverup: Six arrested after rare probe report into lead poisoning in Chinese preschool")
China kindergarten lead poisoning case: A rare and shocking probe report into a recent lead poisoning of nearly 250 Chinese preschool kids has revealed a massive coverup in the wake of the incident. The report said that school authorities, hospital staff and health officials tampered with test results to downplay the severity of the poisoning.
Tainted buns, sick children: What happened at Chinese kindergarten?
It was supposed to have been a food decoration at an event this summer at Peixin Kindergarten in China’s Gansu Province. School staff added industrial pigment containing high levels of lead to food to make it look more beautiful. The pigments were bought from a nearby shop and were marked 'inedible'. The colouring agents were painted on buns and cakes to boost the school’s appeal. Chefs dyed the buns bright yellow and cakes in shades of pink and teal.
The school management 'instructed staff to add brightly coloured but inedible industrial pigments to foods such as corn rolls and jujube cakes,' the probe report said.
Eventually, the poisoning affected more than 250 kindergarteners, with some having lead levels in blood that were 2,000 times the legal limit.
A red date sponge cake, for instance, had 1,052mg of lead per kg, and a corn roll had 1,340mg, while the legal limit is 0.5mg.
In total, 247 of 251 children and 28 out of 34 staff at the school tested positive for elevated lead levels. Even five kids who had already graduated were affected.
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How local hospitals covered up China lead poisoning of kids
Local hospital staff tried to evade responsibility and obstructed the investigation in various ways, according to the probe report.
One child had high lead levels on six separate tests, but no alarm was ever raised, it alleged.
Tianshui No 2 People’s Hospital altered blood test results, cutting one child's lead reading by seven times, while the Gansu CDC bungled or sabotaged testing by shaking blood samples and letting them sit too long, skewing the results, the probe found.
China lead poisoning investigation: The kindergarten was operating without a license
It also emerged that the Peixin Kindergarten was operating without a license, and the local education bureau did nothing about it.
The probe found that officials even accepted gifts and bribes from a school investor.
Arrests, apologies and anger: China lead poisoning aftermath
Authorities have arrested six people, including the principal, cooks, and the school investor, and 17 others, including top health and education officials, are under criminal investigation.
Ten more people, including the head of the provincial health commission, and the mayor of Tianshui, face formal accountability.
Treatment costs are being covered by the government, which apologised, even as 234 children have been treated and discharged.
Lead poisoning incident videos are being removed
Amid national outrage and protests outside the school, it has also emerged that videos of the gathernings were removed from online platforms.
Several parents took their children outside the province for tests.
