50 'poisoned by battery factory'

OFFICIALS in eastern China have blamed a battery factory for causing lead poisoning in more than 50 children and have ordered the plant to relocate.

Similar reports of lead poisoning have emerged around the country since August, affecting more than 3,000 children and highlighting the heavy environmental cost of China's rapid economic development.

The Shengxiang Power Source Company is only 50 yards from Hekou village in Jiangsu province. The factory is the source of the lead pollution, Sun Jie, an information officer for Dafeng city, which oversees the village, said.