U.S. Water News Online
BEIJING -- Waste from a copper plant containing arsenic leaked into a well in northeast China, sickening 160 people, the government said.
The leak was caused by a malfunction in the valves of wastewater recycling pipelines at the Jiayi Copper Plant in Liaoning province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Waste containing chemicals such as arsenic and manganese flowed into the well, a source of water for a nearby village, causing residents to feel dizzy, feverish and weak, Xinhua said, citing Liu Baozhen, a 66-year-old villager.
The fowl they were raising in their backyards also died, Xinhua said.
It did not say when the leak occurred, but cited Zhang Xinyan, a medical worker, as saying that patients -- mostly villagers -- were hospitalized as early as Dec. 6.
A few plant workers also went to the hospital later to seek treatment for similar symptoms, Xinhua said.
Other employees who have undergone check-ups as a precaution have showed high arsenic content in their bodies, it said.
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