More details are emerging of lead poisoning from processing plants in China.

More than 1,300 children were poisoned by lead pollution from a year-old manganese processing plant in Wenping township, Hunan province (central China). Xinhua says 60% to 70% of children living nearby had unhealthy levels (over 100mg) of lead in their blood. The factory was closed last week.

Last week in Shaanxi province, northern China, 615 children tested positive for lead poisoning attributed to a smelter, which is due to cease operating this Saturday (The Guardian, Xinhua).

The New York Times notes that although the national government has committed to clean-up measures, the World Bank says 59 percent of the water in China’s seven major rivers is unfit to drink, and the government says the air in about a quarter of cities is unhealthy.