A total of 509 villagers have been sickened by cadmium, a heavy metal pollutant discharged by a chemical plant in Liuyang City in central China's Hunan Province, Xinhua quoted the local authority as saying. Zhou Mengde, an official in charge of the investigation of the incident, said the government has offered free health checks to 2,888 villagers living in an area within 1,200 meters to the chemical discharge, and urinalysis tests of 509 among them showed excessive cadmium levels. "Among the sickened, 33 need to be hospitalized. The government will cover the medical cost of their treatment," he said. Two environmental officials in the city have been suspended from their jobs after villagers took to the streets in several protests of the pollution caused by the Changsha Xianghe Chemical Plant in Zhentou Township. The latest protest on July 30 was participated by around 1,000 villagers. According to the government investigation, the plant established in 2003 was ordered to stop production in April. However, the death of two residents in May and June, caused panic, since the death was found by local health departments to have been caused by cadmium. The plant mainly produced zinc sulfate, an ingredient in fodder. A Xinhua reporter saw a large area of the woods surrounding the plant dead.
