Provincial officials, hospital staff attempts to cover up lead poisoning of children

(MENAFN) A major investigation has uncovered that numerous local government and hospital workers in northwest China were involved in concealing a lead poisoning incident that affected hundreds of young children, sparking national outrage.

According to findings, staff members had altered the results of blood tests taken from children at Peixin Kindergarten, located in Tianshui, Gansu province, where the mass poisoning occurred.

Reports also indicated that municipal authorities had accepted bribes from one of the kindergarten’s investors and had failed to conduct proper food safety inspections at several childcare centers.

To make meals appear more appealing and increase enrollment, kitchen staff at Peixin had used non-edible paint on food items.

Tests later showed that the contaminated food contained levels of lead up to 2,000 times higher than the country’s legal safety threshold.

Initially, eight individuals were taken into custody over their roles in preparing and serving the hazardous food. Six people—among them the kindergarten principal, several cooks, and an investor—have since been formally arrested.

Ten additional officials are set to undergo what were described as "formal accounting procedures," and disciplinary reviews have been launched against 17 more individuals.

On July 8, authorities disclosed that 235 children from the private kindergarten were receiving medical treatment for lead poisoning after consuming food items such as steamed red date cakes and sausage corn buns.

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