Over 10% of Villagers in a Wuhan Village Diagnosed with Cancer; Officials Investigate Chemical Plant
According to Chinese media, in a village in Wuhan, Hubei with only 585 registered residents, at least 62 people have been diagnosed with cancer or leukemia. The cause is suspected to be long-term illegal pollution from a local chemical plant, sparking controversy. The Wuhan municipal government has formed a joint investigation team to conduct a thorough inquiry into the health and environmental issues.
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- 📰 Published: May 19, 2026 at 19:09
- 🔍 Collected: May 19, 2026 at 19:32 (23 min after Published)
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(CNA, Taipei, 19th) Chinese media reported that in a village in Xinzhou District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, with only 585 registered residents, at least 62 people have contracted cancer or leukemia, suspected to be related to long-term illegal pollution from a local chemical plant, sparking controversy. The Propaganda Department of the Wuhan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China stated in the afternoon that the Wuhan city government has established a joint investigation team to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth investigation into the related issues and will announce the results in a timely manner.
Global Times reported that the notice issued by the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department has already mentioned environmental issues related to the "Changsheng Sodium Silicate Plant" located next to the incident's "Huangtupo Village," indicating that the authorities have identified this chemical plant as the source of pollution.
The notice mentioned that the Wuhan joint investigation team will launch a comprehensive and in-depth investigation into issues such as "villagers' health, environmental ecology, and production suspension."
Located in a remote area of Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Huangtupo Village has a registered population of only 585. However, over the past decade, 62 people have successively developed cancer and leukemia, the vast majority of whom are young and middle-aged adults under 50. Since 2015, 19 people have died, and another 15 are still undergoing treatment.
However, a villager revealed that because the village only got running water in 2016, villagers had been drinking groundwater for a long time. The villagers generally believe that the actual number of sick people in the entire village is far more than the aforementioned figure.
A villager pointed out that the "Changsheng Sodium Silicate Plant," located north of the village and built in 1986, has long been illegally discharging pollutants without obtaining environmental permits for environmental impact assessment and pollution discharge, which is the main reason for the high incidence of cancer and leukemia among villagers.
Villagers also reported that when the factory is in production, dust is pervasive, and the wastewater, described as "soy sauce-colored," flows through farmland and into ponds. Crops near the discharge ditch show obvious abnormal growth, with situations like "sweet potatoes not sprouting and weeds withering."
58-year-old villager Xu Wenjie said his 43-year-old wife was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012 and passed away after four years of treatment. In 2017, his 26-year-old daughter-in-law also contracted leukemia. "It was only later when I compiled the statistics that I discovered 62 people in the village had gotten cancer or leukemia in recent years."
According to the report, outside the walls of the "Changsheng Sodium Silicate Plant" are the former vegetable plots of Huangtupo villagers, where numerous graves are located. Xu Wenjie said that many of the deceased buried there died of cancer or leukemia, and in the area's ten or so vegetable plots, every household has someone suffering from cancer or leukemia, some even more than one person.
Global Times reported that the notice issued by the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department has already mentioned environmental issues related to the "Changsheng Sodium Silicate Plant" located next to the incident's "Huangtupo Village," indicating that the authorities have identified this chemical plant as the source of pollution.
The notice mentioned that the Wuhan joint investigation team will launch a comprehensive and in-depth investigation into issues such as "villagers' health, environmental ecology, and production suspension."
Located in a remote area of Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Huangtupo Village has a registered population of only 585. However, over the past decade, 62 people have successively developed cancer and leukemia, the vast majority of whom are young and middle-aged adults under 50. Since 2015, 19 people have died, and another 15 are still undergoing treatment.
However, a villager revealed that because the village only got running water in 2016, villagers had been drinking groundwater for a long time. The villagers generally believe that the actual number of sick people in the entire village is far more than the aforementioned figure.
A villager pointed out that the "Changsheng Sodium Silicate Plant," located north of the village and built in 1986, has long been illegally discharging pollutants without obtaining environmental permits for environmental impact assessment and pollution discharge, which is the main reason for the high incidence of cancer and leukemia among villagers.
Villagers also reported that when the factory is in production, dust is pervasive, and the wastewater, described as "soy sauce-colored," flows through farmland and into ponds. Crops near the discharge ditch show obvious abnormal growth, with situations like "sweet potatoes not sprouting and weeds withering."
58-year-old villager Xu Wenjie said his 43-year-old wife was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012 and passed away after four years of treatment. In 2017, his 26-year-old daughter-in-law also contracted leukemia. "It was only later when I compiled the statistics that I discovered 62 people in the village had gotten cancer or leukemia in recent years."
According to the report, outside the walls of the "Changsheng Sodium Silicate Plant" are the former vegetable plots of Huangtupo villagers, where numerous graves are located. Xu Wenjie said that many of the deceased buried there died of cancer or leukemia, and in the area's ten or so vegetable plots, every household has someone suffering from cancer or leukemia, some even more than one person.