. Earth Science News .
China blames pollution as birth defects rise: state media

Hu Yali said research suggested 10 percent of birth defects were caused by environmental pollution, while 25 to 30 percent were due to genetic factors, and the rest were due to a mixture of both, according to the Ta Kung Pao.
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 1, 2009
Every 30 seconds a baby is born with physical defects in China, partly due to the country's deteriorating environment, state media said, citing a senior family planning official.

The figure, reported by the China Daily in its weekend edition, adds up to almost 1.1 million in a year, or about seven percent of all births in the world's most populous nation.

"The number of newborns with birth defects is constantly increasing in both urban and rural areas," said Jiang Fan, vice-minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, according to the paper.

She did not give a figure for the increase in the prevalence of birth defects in recent years.

A report in the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao newspaper last month gave a lower figure for birth defects, saying they showed up in four to six percent of all births in China.

The factors behind birth defects are "very complicated", Hu Yali, a professor at the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University in east China, told the Beijing-leaning Hong Kong paper then.

She said research suggested 10 percent of birth defects were caused by environmental pollution, while 25 to 30 percent were due to genetic factors, and the rest were due to a mixture of both, according to the Ta Kung Pao.

North China's coal-rich Shanxi province, a major source of toxic emissions from large-scale chemical industries, has recorded the highest rate of birth defects, the China Daily said in its weekend edition.

"The problem of birth defects is related to environmental pollution, especially in eight main coal zones," said An Huanxiao, the director of Shanxi provincial family planning agency, according to the paper.

Pan Jianping, a professor of the Women and Child Health Research Office under Xi'an Jiaotong University, warned that the increasing rate of birth defects among Chinese infants would soon become a social problem.

"It will influence economic development and the quality of life," he was quoted as saying.

"Economic pressure is very heavy for families raising babies with physical defects, particularly for those who live in poor rural areas," he said, according to the paper.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Over 4,000 industrial plants without proper permits: EU
Brussels (AFP) Jan 29, 2009
The European Commission took legal action on Thursday against 10 member states for allowing more than 4,000 industrial plants to operate with proper permits.







  • Risk Factors That Affected World Trade Center Evacuation
  • Fresh warnings after storm kills 26 in southern Europe
  • UNICEF needs soar past one billion dollars
  • Fresh warnings after storm kills 26 in southern Europe

  • Climate Change's Impact On Invasive Plants In Western US May Create Restoration Opportunities
  • Climate change: Scientists doubt claims over sea 'fertilisation'
  • New Study Shows Climate Change Irreversible
  • EU welcomes Obama climate vow

  • NASA Tracks A Green Planet Called Earth
  • New Steps In ESA Cooperation For GMES Program
  • The Orbiting Carbon Observatory And The Mystery Of The Missing Sinks
  • With Cheney gone, Google gains sky view of VP's home

  • Economy takes wind out of project's sails
  • Bid to unify German environmental law fails: minister
  • Analysis: Transneft changes with the times
  • A Better Way To Pinpoint Underground Oil Reserves

  • Progress made toward smallpox medication
  • WHO says no evidence of China bird flu epidemic
  • China reports fifth bird flu death this year
  • Cholera from Zimbabwe spreads in Kruger's rivers: spokesman

  • Natural Selection Is Not The Only Process That Drives Evolution
  • Dog Owners Need To Wash Hands
  • The Vicuna Is Back From The Brink In South America
  • Climate change setting penguins on march to extinction: study

  • China blames pollution as birth defects rise: state media
  • Over 4,000 industrial plants without proper permits: EU
  • Study Links Water Pollution With Declining Male Fertility
  • Blame game as Mexico City trash piles up

  • Sociability Traced To Particular Region Of Brain
  • Imaging Study Illustrates How Memories Change In The Brain Over Time
  • Scientists try to build a synthetic brain
  • Training Key To Keyhole Surgery Meeting EU Time Directives

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement