Beijing Blames Pollutants for Rise in Killer Cancers

Foul air, filthy water and contaminated soil have led to a surge of tumors in China, where cancer is the main cause of death, the state media reported yesterday.

Raising fears that breakneck economic growth is having a dire impact on the nation's health, a government survey blamed pollution for a sharp rise in cancer cases.

According to the health ministry, the disease is ahead of cerebrovascular and heart ailments as the nation's biggest killer.

In a ministry study of 30 cities and 78 counties, scientists found that air and water pollution - along with widespread use of pesticides and food additives - was to blame for the trend.

Chen Zhizhou, of a cancer research institute affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said the situation was getting worse. "Many chemical and industrial enterprises are built along rivers so that they can dump the waste into water easily," he told the China Daily. "Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides also pollute underground water. The contaminated water has directly affected soil, crops and food."

In recent years, newspapers have been filled with reports of "cancer villages", where there are clusters of the disease near industrial plants or alongside polluted waterways. Many of them are in Jiangsu - one of China's richest and most developed provinces - which accounts for 12% of all cancer cases nationwide. Last year, a construction official said a single river in the province contained 93 different carcinogens because so many factories were dumping untreated waste.

The province's Tumor Prevention Center told state media that cancer deaths nationwide had risen 18% in urban areas and 11% in rural areas between 1991 and 2000 as a result of the deteriorating environment.

Further north in Tianjin, the village of Xiditou - home to several chemical factories - has become notorious for ill-health. The local health authority admits cancer rates are more than 30 times the national average.

But it is not unique. According to the environment agency, one quarter of China's 1.3bn population drink substandard water. Such statistics - along with food safety scandals, rising healthcare costs and corruption cases involving drug regulators - have fueled concerns that the country is becoming sicker and dirtier as it becomes richer.

Even preparations for the Olympics have been affected. According to the South China Morning Post, 40 top athletes and coaches were forced to withdraw from competition in January after contracting influenza through a dirty and poorly maintained air ventilation system.