A total of 266 workers at a zinc smelting company in northwest China's Gansu Province have been found to have excessive cadmium levels in their blood over the past month, the local government said Thursday.
The first case was exposed when a worker at the company, which is owned by the Gansu Baohui Industrial Group Co. Ltd. based in Huixian county, received medical treatment on Oct. 23, the county government announced in a statement.
The company subsequently stopped the operation of its cadmium recycling machine, stored the cadmium dregs in safe places and invited doctors to conduct blood tests on the hundreds of workers who had been exposed to cadmium, an extremely toxic metal, the statement said.
Currently, 71 workers are being treated at a local hospital, including one who was suspected of cadmium poisoning, and the other 195 are being treated at the company with the instructions of medical experts, it said.
An initial investigation showed that inadequate protective measures were to blame for the incident, it said.
The company, which employs 1,700 people, has been ordered to halt production.
Local authorities are further investigating the incident, it added.
Acute exposure to cadmium fumes may cause flu-like symptoms, including chills, fever and muscle aches. More severe exposure can cause tracheo-bronchitis, pneumonitis, and pulmonary edema.
