About 170 residents of a couple of villages near Taizhou City in coastal Zhejiang province have reported excessive blood lead levels caused by a local battery plant. Experts say the metal can harm various parts of body, including nervous and reproductive systems.

Shangtao village resident Tao Xiaoming, found it difficult to get her one year old son, Dou Dou, to fall asleep. He would cry and make a lot of noise. She thought it was normal at first but after a hospital check-up, she became concerned.

Tao Xiaoming, one villager said "The doctor told me the safe limit for lead is one hundred, but my son's is two hundred, double."

As word spread about Dou Dou's condition, about 5 hundred residents in the three villages had check-ups. About a third of them, 150, have high blood lead levels, including 50 children, with three suffering severe illnesses.

They suspect they've been poisoned by a battery plant, which was opened 6 years ago, in the center of the village, and just ten meters from their homes.

Despite being shut down by the local government ten days ago, a bad smell remains in the factory, along with piles of boxes containing lead powder and exposed machines. To cut the costs, the plant used to discharge waste liquid through simple equipment.

One villager said "You see, the drops of waste liquid have melted the concrete and stones, which shows it's very poisonous and harmful to people's health. "

Here's where the heavy metal powder and liquid goes. Then they're absorbed into people's bodies without them realizing, from the underground water and soil, where they grow vegetables.

One villager said "My father used to be very healthy, but our vegetables grow right beside the factory. My father died after eating our vegetables for six months."

One villager said "My 19-year old son always says he's tired. Without work, he cannot survive, but as long as he works, he always feels tired. I can't imagine what his life will be like."

The local government is conducting further investigations into the case, and medical experts have completed a medical treatment plan.

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