Recently, in Maiji District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, some children in a kindergarten showed symptoms of nausea, diarrhea, and were found to have varying degrees of lead poisoning after hospital testing. Some children’s lead levels were even 12 times higher than those of their parents. Following the incident, the kindergarten principal is under investigation.
According to several kindergarten parents who spoke to Upstream News on July 1st, their children had been experiencing symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, leg pain, and stomach ache. Upon visiting the hospital, they discovered it was due to lead poisoning.
Initially, the parents did not associate these symptoms with the school. Some thought their children lacked calcium, some believed they caught a cold, or had a weak spleen, and even bought Chinese medicine for their children to balance it. However, some parents later took their children for medical check-ups and found out about the lead poisoning. As news spread, more and more children were diagnosed with lead poisoning after being examined at the hospital, leading parents to suspect the kindergarten.
Photos provided by parents showed black spots on children’s gums and signs of minimal hair loss. Concerned about their children’s health, some parents even took their children to Xi’an, Shaanxi Province for treatment.
On July 3, the Pediatric Ward of Xi’an Central Hospital confirmed that a total of 19 children with lead poisoning were admitted to the ward that day.
Doctors at the hospital mentioned that for children with lead levels above 250μg/L (micrograms per liter) or those showing noticeable symptoms, they recommend hospitalization for treatment. Each individual’s condition varies, and typically the initial treatment lasts for 3 days. If there is no improvement, the treatment may need to be extended.
The examination reports of the affected children showed that the highest lead level was over 400μg/L and the lowest was around 300μg/L. In order to verify the accuracy of the test results, some parents also underwent lead testing simultaneously with their children. The results showed that the children’s lead levels were more than 12 times that of the parents.
According to parents, the kindergarten involved is the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Maiji District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, which is considered one of the better private kindergartens in the area. The kindergarten has classes for toddlers, nursery, and kindergarten levels, with around 30 children in each class and a total of over 200 students.
Public information indicates that the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten was established in 2022 with a registered capital of 500,000 CNY, offering services in “daily childcare-based early childhood education.” In 2022, the kindergarten also obtained a food operation permit, issued by the Maiji District Market Supervision Administration.
On July 3, the Health Bureau of Maiji District, Tianshui City, issued a public notice stating that, following reports received on July 1, they had uncovered a case of “irregular use of additives in a certain kindergarten leading to abnormal lead levels in some children.” The responsible person at the kindergarten is now under investigation.
However, when asked about the “additives caused” as mentioned in the notice, interviewed parents expressed that so far they are not clear on what kind of additives it refers to.
One parent told The Paper, “They only mentioned that the source was food, without informing us of the specific food. Our children had their blood tested yesterday, and we have not been given the results yet.”
In response to this, an official from the Market Supervision Administration in Maiji District, Tianshui City, stated that after the police and various departments intervened in the investigation, the food samples have been sealed and taken away. At present, they are also uncertain about the specific additives that led to the abnormal lead levels in the children.
According to Xinhua News Agency, over 200 test samples have been sent to the Gansu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention for further examination.