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 Of the more than 50 residents from in and around the rural town of
Dapu in central Hunan province who originally agreed to join the
lawsuit, only 11 remain, their lawyer, Dai Renhui, told Reuters. Hu
Shaobo, another lawyer advising on the case, said some plaintiffs
had withdrawn under pressure from local government officials.
The lawsuit, described by lawyers as one of the first of its kind to
be accepted by a Chinese court, is scheduled to be heard next month.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensation, although Dai declined to
say if they had agreed on an amount.
China has declared "war on pollution" in the wake of mounting
discontent over a growth-at-all-costs economic model that has
spoiled much of the country's water, skies and soil.
A revised environmental protection law that came into effect in
January raised penalties for polluters and enabled environmental
groups to file public interest lawsuits.
But in less developed regions such as Dapu, factories accused of
being polluters are also leading employers and taxpayers,
underlining the tensions inherent in China's fight to clean up its
environment and improve the rule of law while continuing to grow the
economy.
The Dapu lawsuit, filed in the Hengdong county court in March,
alleges that pollution from a local chemical plant and smelter
called Melody Chemical caused elevated levels of lead in the blood
of 11 children named in the suit.
Dapu's lead problem made national headlines last June in an expose
by state broadcaster CCTV, in which the head of the township was
shown saying children might have raised their own lead levels by
chewing on pencils.
After the broadcast, which said more than 300 children had high lead
levels, officials opened an investigation and Melody was ordered to
shut down.
Attempts by Reuters to reach Melody for comment were unsuccessful.
Plaintiff Yin Wanchun told Reuters by telephone that local officials
had urged him to withdraw from the case, saying he had made his
point and that participating would cause unspecified problems for
him.
"I told them this was a legal matter, what's the government doing
interfering," said Yin, who is acting on behalf of his 12-year-old
granddaughter.
Tests at a hospital in Changsha, the provincial capital, showed she
had high levels of lead in her blood, Yin said.
Liu Huan, a spokesman for Dapu township, said he knew of the lawsuit
but added that to his knowledge, local authorities had not urged
anyone to withdraw from the suit.
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Dai, the lawyer, said the court delayed the first hearing to June
from April 28 on the grounds it was a "significant, complex and
difficult" case. Attempts to reach the court for comment were
unsuccessful.
TOWN IN ENVIRONMENTAL SPOTLIGHT
Lead poisoning is one of the serious side effects of China's rapid
economic growth and lack of environmental controls.
Exposure to lead is particularly dangerous for children: it inhibits
intellectual and physical development and can cause poor
concentration, disruptive behavior and even death at high levels.
Dapu, home to about 62,000 people, is dotted with smelters and
chemical plants.
A 2014 report by environmental group Greenpeace found that rice
samples taken there contained high levels of cadmium and lead, some
as much as 22 times the national standard.
Experts said the Hengdong court's acceptance of the lawsuit was
progress, noting how Chinese courts had in the past routinely
refused to accept such cases.
Nevertheless, plaintiffs in cases like this one would likely
struggle to gather sufficient evidence to prove the accused company
was responsible for harming the children's health, said Wang Xi, a
professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University's School of Law.
"In (less-developed regions), where the government's main job is
economic development and poverty alleviation, it's hard for
governments to close down all polluting companies at once," added
Wang.
(Additional reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Dean Yates)
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