Wuhan Launches Investigation After 62 Cancer and Leukemia Cases Emerge in Small Village

Wuhan authorities launched an investigation Tuesday into a cluster of cancer and leukemia cases in a small village where 62 residents have been diagnosed – a rate far exceeding the national average.

The Huangtupo village, part of Zhangxin Village in Liji Subdistrict – has a registered population of just 585 people. According to Daxiang News, 62 villagers have developed cancer or leukemia, the vast majority under age 50. Since 2015 alone, 34 cases have been confirmed, 19 of which resulted in death. Fifteen others remain in treatment.

Resident representative Zhang Jianyong said the actual number is likely higher because villagers relied on groundwater for years before tap water was finally connected in 2016.

Data from the National Cancer Center of China shows the country's cancer incidence rate at approximately 207.7 per 100,000 people, while the incidence rate for leukemia is about 3 to 5 per 100,000. In Huangtupo, the disease rate is significantly higher – a disparity that has drawn widespread concern.

Many villagers suspect the source is the Changsheng Sodium Silicate Factory, located north of the village. According to residents, the factory has never obtained full environmental permits, including environmental impact assessments and pollution discharge licenses.

Although environmental authorities ordered the factory to shut down, residents claim it continues operating in secret. Complaints first surfaced in April 2022, but four years later, the issue remains unresolved, according to Daxiang News.

Business records show the factory was established in 2001 and primarily engages in chemical raw materials and chemical product manufacturing.

The Morning Post reported that the factory sits within Wuhan's basic ecological control line – a protected zone designated by the municipal government. Under the Wuhan Basic Ecological Control Line Management Regulations, construction of chemical plants is strictly prohibited inside the control line. Yet the factory is alleged to have operated there illegally for years.

Villagers reported that a drainage ditch from the factory long carried a "soy sauce-colored" wastewater. Where the water flowed, weeds died, crops grew abnormally, and fish died in irrigation channels. Cats that ate dead fish from the area also perished.

Testing conducted more than two years after the factory was ordered to close found that manganese levels in the groundwater – which villagers had long drunk – still exceeded safety limits by three times.

The Xinzhou District Ecological Environment Bureau repeatedly claimed the factory had "no serious pollution" and had ceased production. But residents dispute those statements, alleging that officials collected water samples during heavy rain – potentially diluting pollutants – and downplayed excessive readings. Some residents said they suspected authorities tipped off the factory before inspections.

After the Wuhan Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau confirmed pollution violations, regulators fined the factory 200,000 yuan (US$29,391) and ordered it shut down. However, residents claim production has continued surreptitiously and that key equipment has not been dismantled.

Efforts by residents to obtain government records related to law enforcement actions at the factory have failed, according to the report.

In response to renewed media reports on environmental issues at the Changsheng Sodium Silicate Factory, the Wuhan municipal government issued a statement on May 19. A joint investigation team has been formed to conduct a comprehensive probe into residents' health conditions, environmental damage, and whether the factory has remained illegally operational.