Police in east China's Zhejiang Province have detained a storage battery plant manager following incidents in which untreated industrial emissions poisoned 168 villagers, a government spokesman said Sunday.

Ying Jianguo, general manager of Taizhou Suqi Storage Battery Co. Ltd., was taken into custody on March 25 and is facing environmental pollution charges, said Pan Fangdi, an official from Luqiao district in the city of Taizhou in Zhejiang Province.

Pan said three officials, including the deputy chief of the district's environmental protection office, have also been suspended from their posts for failing to properly supervise the region.

A toxic spill surfaced in early March as residents of Shangtao village were found to have high levels of lead in their blood. The village is located close to the battery plant. By March 26, at least 168 residents, including 53 children, were found to have elevated levels of lead.

Nearly 600 villagers had their blood checked following the lead poisoning incidents.

Exposure to high levels of lead can damage the digestive, nervous, and reproductive systems, health experts say.

There have not been any life-threatening cases of lead poisoning, but three of the victims have required further treatment to reduce the levels of lead in their blood, Pan said.

The lead poisoning incidents have been directly linked to the discharge of untreated waste from the battery plant, Pan said, citing an investigative report from the government.

The plant has been shut down and government workers are working to contain the toxic spill, he added.

Meanwhile, the environmental protection department of northeast China's Jilin Province is preparing to conduct a series of inspections over pollution treatment facilities in 430 highly polluting industrial plants built on rivers including Liaohe River, the Songhua River and their tributaries.

The massive inspection is meant to prevent future spills, especially poisoning of heavy metals, authorities said.

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