It’s a deadly cocktail of air and water pollution, food additives and pesticides which made cancer the most lethal disease in China last year, according to health experts.
China’s official news agency Xinhua quoted a health ministry survey and said that cancer topped the list of 10 most deadly diseases in the country.
The survey was conducted in 30 cities and 78 counties in China.
Chen Zhizhou, a health expert from a cancer research center, felt pollution was the main reason behind growing cancer in the country, apart from industrialization.
He said
The main reason is that the pollution of environment, water and air is getting worse day by day. To pursue the growth in GDP, a lot of chemical and industrial enterprises were built along the rivers so that they could dump the waste through water easily.
Chen said once the water sources got contaminated, it spread to soil, crops, food and then human body system. The air pollution also contributed to the rise in cancer.
Apart from rampant use of fertilizers and pesticides, farmers used additive on poultry and pigs as well for faster growth. As a result, cancer deaths had increased by 19 percent in cities and 23 percent in rural areas since 2005.
Photo: China Daily