Toxic substance in Audi, a car made in China, causing leukemia and other health problems! D.C. Times, March 13, 2019, 21:22

Toxic substance in Chinese cars: leukemia and other health problems continue to spread (all 1 photo)

On the Chinese domestic Internet, six Beijing citizens and others recently reported health problems with their real names, saying that they had developed leukemia after purchasing domestic "Audi" brand cars. Photo shows an interior view of part of an Audi Q5 (D.C. Archives).

Six citizens from Beijing, Shandong, and other parts of China reported online on April 9 that they had developed leukemia after using "Audi" cars manufactured by state-owned automaker FAW Mass. The citizens claimed that the brand's cars use toxic substances during production. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported the story on April 10.

FAW Mass is a joint venture between Chinese automaker China FAW and German automaker Volkswagen, with headquarters in Changchun, Jilin Province.

FAW Mass began manufacturing and selling the Audi Q5 SUV in 2010. In 2013, Chinese media reported that some Audi models had a "strange odor" and that users had contracted leukemia. The program attributed the "strange odor" to bitumen, which is used as a damping material.

FAW Mass admitted on its official website in March 2017 that it had an odor problem with "Audi" brand cars manufactured from 2013-16.

Bitumen releases benzene, benzopyran, and other carcinogens, which can cause health problems such as rhinitis, skin diseases, miscarriages, fetal damage, and leukemia if inhaled over a long period of time.

One of the victims, Lin, who lives in Shandong Province, told RFA that she received a huge response after posting her accusations on the social media site Weixin. According to Lin, 20 users of the car complained of similar symptoms.

Lin purchased the Audi A4 in May 2015 and was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in January 2018. Five other victims also contracted the same disease after purchasing "odd-smelling" Audi vehicles.

According to Lin, the cars in question are limited to domestic "Audi" brand cars. One of his friends found 20 to 30 kilograms of bitumen inside the car after it was dismantled."

According to RFA, Tian, a Beijing citizen, was one of those who, like Lin and others, reported health problems under their own names. Tian's husband purchased a domestic Audi in 2014, contracted leukemia a year later, and later died at the young age of 40. After her husband's death, Ms. Tian filed a lawsuit against FAW Mass in the Beijing Municipal District Court. However, because FAW Mass was a state-owned enterprise, Ms. Tian was harassed. She also asked for help from the media, but was turned away at the door.

Mr. Qin, a Chinese auto industry official, told RFA that a joint venture between a state-owned automaker and a foreign automaker manufactures cars in China. "The main parts such as engines are imported from abroad, but in order to reduce costs, they use inferior interior materials," he said. This is because there are no national safety standards for interior materials," he said.

Mr. Qin pointed out that all domestic automakers use toxic substances that affect the human body.

Meanwhile, according to an RFA report on January 12, Chinese authorities on January 11 blocked Lin's "Weixin" account after she complained of health problems on the Internet.

In addition, Lin told RFA on the 12th that she received an increase in prank calls and nuisance calls after posting the accusations, and subsequently declined RFA's interview. It is believed that she was pressured by the authorities.

According to RFA, there are several QQ groups (an instant messenger chat group operated by Chinese Internet service giant Tencent) on the Chinese domestic Internet protesting the issue of the strange odor of FAW Mass's "Audi" cars, with about 2,000 protesters.

(Translation edited by Zhang Zhe)