The city authorities inspect running tracks. Preliminary findings indicate the presence of toxic materials. Angry parents accuse the authorities of a cover-up. Similar cases have occurred in other Chinese cities.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Beijing authorities have declared a school emergency, and ordered the inspection of all school running tracks and synthetic sports fields in the Chinese capital.
This comes after parents at one primary school reported that their children suffered nose bleeds, allergies and dry eyes after using the sports track. This is not the first time.
The Beijing Municipal Education Commission suspended all construction of new school athletic tracks. However, this has done little to ease parents' concerns.
"I can't stop worrying because this is just an order to examine all school tracks," said Li, the mother of an 8-year-old child.
Another parent said, "They haven't decided to remove the current one that's causing the sickness. My son still has to go to this school every day."
On Chinese micro-blog Weibo, #ToxicSchoolTrackResurfaced and #ToxicSchoolTrack were trending, as users complained about poor standards.
One user wrote, "These people would do anything to gain profit. They are poisoning our next generation."
The Education Commission has ordered that the track be covered in protective coating, and promised to track down those responsible. However, many note that nothing was done in previous cases.
The problem is not Beijing’s alone. Last November, authorities in Shenzhen tore up an athletics track after tests showed it contained more than 140 times the permitted level of methylbenzene.
In another case, almost 500 students allegedly developed dermatitis, blood abnormalities, leukaemia and lymphoma at a school in Changzhou.