Air and water pollution combined with widespread use of food additives and pesticides made cancer the top killer in China last year, according to a recent government survey.

Air and water pollution combined with widespread use of food additives and pesticides made cancer the top killer in China last year, according to a recent government survey.

Cancer topped the list of the 10 most lethal diseases for urban residents last year, followed by cerebrovascular diseases and heart ailments, according to the survey in 30 cities and 78 counties released by the Ministry of Health.

"The main reason behind the rising number of cancer cases is that pollution of the environment, water and air is getting worse day by day," said Chen Zhizhou, a health expert with the cancer research institute affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

"Many chemical and industrial enterprises are built along rivers so that they can dump the waste into water easily," Chen said. "Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides also pollute underground water.

"The contaminated water has directly affected soil, crops and food," he added.

Air pollution is a major cause of lung cancers, as harmful granules enter the lungs and cannot be discharged. Large amounts of formaldehyde and its compounds used in house renovations and furniture has been blamed for deterioration in air quality.

In addition, farmers use additives on pigs, poultry and vegetables to make them grow faster.

The survey, the first of its kind in recent years, showed that the death rate from cancer has risen to 19 percent in cities and 23 percent in rural areas.

In rural areas, 92 percent of fatalities were caused by 10 illnesses, the first three being cancer, cerebrovascular diseases and respiratory diseases.

Reports on "cancer villages" have popped up frequently in recent years.

An investigative story by Xinhua last June said a high rate of cancer deaths has become a reality in areas where the environment is heavily polluted.

In Shangba Village of Guangdong Province, for instance, more than 250 people died of cancer from 1987 to 2005; while in Huangmengying Village of Henan Province, more than 114 people died of cancer between 1991 and 2005.

Similar cases were also reported in other provinces, with the usage of heavily-polluted water being the common factor.

近日，政府的一項調查顯示，空氣污染、水污染及大范圍使用食物添加劑和殺蟲劑導致癌癥成為去年我國的頭號殺手。

衛生部共對30個城市和78個縣進行了調查，統計數據顯示，癌癥去年在我國城鎮居民的“十大致命疾病”中排在首位，其次是腦血管疾病和心臟病。

中國醫學科學院腫瘤研究所的健康專家陳智周說，“惡性腫瘤高發的主要原因是環境污染，空氣和水污染正日益嚴重。”

他說，“很多化工企業都建在河邊以便排污。此外，過度使用化肥和殺蟲劑也使地下水遭到污染。”

他說，“被污染的水會直接影響土壤、莊稼和食物。”

空氣污染是引發肺癌的主要因素，因為有害顆粒一旦進入肺里就無法排出來。另外，用于房屋裝修的原料及家具中所含的大量甲醛和甲醛化合物也會導致空氣質量變差。

農民在養豬、養家禽和種菜時用于催肥和催熟的添加劑也是一個重要因素。

該調查顯示，城鎮地區的癌癥死亡率已上升至19%，農村上升至23%。這是近年來這一領域內的首次調查。

農村地區92%的死亡主要由10種疾病引起，排在前三位的是癌癥、腦血管疾病和呼吸系統疾病。

近年來，關于“癌癥村”的報道越來越頻繁。

新華社去年六月的一則調查報道稱，癌癥高死亡率在一些污染嚴重的地區已成為事實。

從1987年至2005年，廣東省上壩村有250多人死于癌癥；從1991年到2005年，河南省黃孟營村至少有114人死于癌癥。

其他省份也有過類似的報道，其共同原因是飲用了被嚴重污染的水。