Trash hill casts shadow on village(2)

Health risks

For visitors to Yuanfuzhuang, which is 7.5 kilometers from downtown Kaifeng, it is impossible to escape the odor - a stench of rotten vegetables, decayed meat and smoky air.

Next to the landfill, there is a chemical plant producing pesticides, which has made the air quality even worse, residents say.

"We are inhaling poisonous air every day, and we have no other choice," Du said, adding that the smell used to disgust her, but over the years she got used to it.

The landfill has deteriorated the soil, and the yield of grain and vegetables in the farmland is less than the average level of the other villages, she said.

What worries residents more is the water pollution caused by the landfill. "Whenever we boil a pot of water from underground, we find half a glass of solid deposited substances in the water," she said.

To avoid being poisoned, people buy bottled drinking water, which can be expensive for farming families. A 20-liter bottle costs 5 yuan.

Du's neighbor, 30-year-old Wang Jiansheng, said the local government had promised to drill a deep well to supply drinking water for residents, but the well has never been drilled.

"I don't oppose the construction of the landfill, but the government should first address the issue of drinking water," he said, adding that his biggest concern is for his 9-month-old son. "His physical development will definitely be affected by the pollution, but we have no other place to live."

Several deaths caused by cancer in recent years have stirred more fears among residents, said Zhang Tianjun, another local. Two women, one aged 30 and the other 45, and a 50-year-old man died of cancer last year.

"I don't know whether the cancer was caused by the pollution of the landfill or not, but the number of deaths among younger people has increased," said Zhang, 38. "Some other health problems, such as heart attacks, have also increased."