A March 5 report from the South China Morning Post revealed that lithium concentrations in the bodies of pregnant women and infants in Beijing are abnormally high – 20 times higher than in other industrial cities in China.
Professor Hu Ligang, an environmental chemist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, monitored lithium concentrations in maternal and umbilical cord blood in Beijing and Changsha. The study found that in 2023, the average lithium concentration in the blood of pregnant women in Changsha, Hunan Province, was 0.61 micrograms per liter (mcg/L), but in Beijing, the number was 27.31 mcg/L.
In Changsha, the lithium found in infants’ umbilical cord blood mainly came from grains, vegetables, and drinking water. However, in Beijing, 96% of the lithium intake by mothers could not be traced to known sources such as food, water, or air. This suggests there might exist a stable, unidentified source of lithium exposure in Beijing.
Excessive lithium levels in the human body can lead to lithium poisoning, which affects all major organs, particularly the kidneys, thyroid, and nervous system.
Source: Radio France International, March 17, 2025
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/专栏检索/环境与发展/20250317-研究显示-北京孕妇脐带血锂浓度超高而暴露源不明