China Admits Existence Of Cancer Villages In Report, As Pollution Concerns Mount

Retirees do Taichi during their morning exercise on a hazy day in Fuyang city, in central China's Anhui province, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. Air pollution is a major problem in China due to the country's rapid pace of industrialization, reliance on coal power, explosive growth in car ownership and disregard for environmental laws. (AP Photo)

huffingtonpost.com - by Dominique Mosbergen - February 23, 2013

As public discontent mounts in China over the country's worsening pollution problem and the government's lack of transparency about environmental concerns, Chinese authorities have acknowledged the existence of so-called "cancer villages" in a new report this week, according to multiple media outlets.

Agence France-Presse writes that the country's environment ministry made the admission in a report about pollution in which authorities acknowledged the dangers posed to human health by the harmful chemicals -- many of which are banned in developed nations -- that are produced and consumed in large quantities in the country.

"The toxic chemicals have caused many environmental emergencies linked to water and air pollution," the report said via the BBC.

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