Xiang Lisheng (alias), 48-year-old, from Laowangzhai village, suffering advanced liver cancer. Laowangzhai village is located in an area with lead and zinc mines, causing dangerously high levels of soil and water pollution. The population has experienced severe health impacts as a result of heavy metal exposure, like Xiang Lisheng with his liver.
Xiang Lisheng said “In the past few years, the medical treatments have cost more than 200,000 yuan, I had to borrow 50,000 yuan from relatives. Now, I am waiting for death because of lack of money. The village is polluted by the mines, the drinking water comes from abandoned mine tunnels and turns white when it rains, it’s not suitable for drinking. The polluted water flows in the river, and then used to irrigate the farmland, so the produce, like rice, is also contaminated. But people have no choice”.