Lead Pollution
and the future of China’s environment
Iris Zhou, Beijing, Summer 2011
233 adults, 99 children poisoned by local lead
acid battery (LAB) factory
 >200 people gathered in riot

Zhejiang – June 2011

Miners/Smelters
◦ Primary smelters
◦ Secondary smelters

Lead Acid Batteries
◦ Manufacturing
◦ Assembly
◦ Recycling
Major Lead Industries
Poisoning
City Air
More
children affected
Rural Air
Respiratory
System
Prevents
Soil
Circulatory
System
No
Food
Lead Poisoning Pathway
proper
nervous system
development
treatment effective
if pollution source not
eliminated
Government
inconsistent
support



Approval of the 12th 5-Year Plan for Heavy Metal
Pollution
Massive close down of noncompliant factories –
“environmental protection storm”
Data collection about all LAB factories
A Golden Opportunity?



US environmental NGO
Specializes in public interest litigation
International offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, and India
Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC)
Number of Smelters by Province
35
30
Number
25
20
15
10
5
0
Province
Yunnan
Poor
but rich mineral
resources
Known
for lax
environmental policies
Plans
to increase
lead/zinc stores by 10
million tons in 3 years
Sensitivity of environmental issues
 Limited power of NGOs
 A sense of urgency

Lessons Learned
Thank you!
PiA, PEI, Tina, NRDC