Blood-lead level testing resumed amid outcry

A city in Central China resumed blood-lead testing on Thursday amid public suspicion that its halt in July which officials said was due to equipment failure was aimed at blinding the public to harmful pollution.

The First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hunan province, resumed blood-lead testing after new equipment was brought in from the provincial capital, said Huang Shujun, an official with the city's health bureau.

He said the hospital's old equipment was still being repaired.

"We tried many times to fix the equipment, but the problem still exists," Xiong Bo, the hospital's vice-president, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Shi Wenyuan, who works with the hospital's lab, said the testing was halted over fears of inaccurate reports. "Blood-lead testing puts high demands on lab conditions and data accuracy. Our old equipment, bought in 2009, is not stable enough to provide accurate test reports."

The halted testing was exposed by Chenzhou News on Feb 18. Last week, however, the newspaper deleted the story from its online edition.

Instead of quelling public doubt, the removal of the story caused an uproar on the Web, and several local and national newspapers reported the incident.

Questions:

1. What is the name of the province involved?

2. When was the old equipment bought according to Shi Wenyuan?

3. Who exposed the story on Feb 18?

Answers:

1. Hunan.

2. 2009.

3. Chenzhou News.