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Small cmmunity suffers big cancer rate
Last Thursday, the long–awaited climate–monitoring system from the Shenzhen Environmental Bureau finally rolled into Gangwan suggesting that the local gornment has begun investigating the environmental hazards reported by local residents from the cancer-ridden community.
The cancer report Eight–year–old He Chaoow lies in a hospital bed fighting cancer. On July 15 he was diagnosed with leukemia. His doctor told Nanfang Daily, a Guangdong-based newspaper, that the patient had to face several rounds of chemotherapy and that his liver, kidneys and other organs would be greatly damaged during the process.
He was born in Gangwan community, a living compound for employees of Nanshan Development Group in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, where his parents work. According to Zhu, vice-president of the group's trade union, the number of cancer patients in Gangwan community is significant. "The are six adults and children with leukemia, and five of them got it in the past six years," she said. Zhu's records show that, altogether, 20 employees who work for the group have been diagnosed with cancer since 1998 The percentage of cancer patients is also surprisingly high in Chiwan village, which is adjacent to Gangwan community. There are seven cancer patients in this small village, which has less than 3,000 people. Wu Li is 46 years old and had just retired from Nanshan Group, was the only one to survive after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She has been living in the village for more than 20 years. In 2002, Wu's
sister-in-law, also from Gangwan community, died of gastric cancer. According to
hospital records, neither Wu nor her sister-in-law carried the cancer gene.
The increasing number of cancer patients has disturbed the peace in Gangwan community. Many local residents believe the region's environment has been affected by the nearby Mawan Power House, Yueliangwan Power House, Nanshan Solid Waste Incneration Factory, Float Glass Factory and Nanhai Oils & Fats Factory. Lu, director of the Gangwan Community Property Management Committee, said the residents opposed the construction of these factories from the very beginning. When the first chimney of the Mawan Power House was erected in the 1990s, the residents wrote a letter to protest. However, their objections did not stop the construction. Instead, residents were forced to get accustomed to the environmental changes. Most residents are used to closing their windows and, according to Lu, some 100 households have moved to other districts. Xiao Congmin, a local resident of Gangwan community, outlined his living compound to Nanfang Daily: "Our community lies n a plain surrounded by mountains. Whenever the nearby factories discharge wastes, the wind will blow the smoke here." According to a survey of 50 residents in Gangwan community conducted by Nanfang Daily, 52 percent said they believed the environment was becoming worse and almost one-half cited air pollution as a contributing factor. The cause Since most cancer patients have lived in Gangwan community for more than 10
years, medical experts from the Disease Prevention and Control Center say there
may be so many cancer patients in Guangwan community due to environmental
degradation and lifestyle. Proposal from the People's Congress They claimed that in 2002 the minimum pollution index in the community stood
at 18 and the maximum reached 165. There were only 144 days with a pollution
index below 50. The major pollutants found in the regions' air were CO2,
nitrogen oxides, dust and waste. At the beginning of the 1980s, the city planned to build a "polluted area" in Nanshan District, where Guangwan community is located, installing powerhouses and other factories the region. However, in the 1990s, the city decided to build more residence compounds in the district, which resulted in a clash of factories and living communities. Furthermore, they suggested the government carry out a thorough investigation of the environmental situation in Nanshan District and devise a plan to either relocate the factories or reduce harmful wastes. They also urged the government to work with other departments, such as environmental protection, finance, land resources and energy, to conduct a comprehensive management to address the problem.
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