Lead Poisoning Found in More Youths in Mexico
Officials have found lead poisoning in more than 4,000 children living near a northern silver refinery, double the number reported in a partial study in 1998, Mexico City newspapers reported Thursday.
Health Undersecretary Jose Narro told a Senate subcommittee that 56 children were so severely poisoned that they required hospital treatment, the newspaper Reforma reported. Television reports said 26 are still hospitalized.
Children near the Met-Mex Penoles plant in Torreon have been shown to have abnormally high levels of lead in their blood.
Senators angrily questioned Narro about why no action had been taken earlier on the lead pollution.
He said authorities had been unaware of the blood-test results.
The latest reports show many of the children have levels as much as seven times above the maximum recommended limit, which is 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood.
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