1950s scandal haunts Japan
Scientists in Japan say people who consumed powdered milk laced with arsenic in the 1950s are currently experiencing a higher rate of traffic deaths.
A research team at the Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases says the deaths are believed to be the result of hearing and vision problems caused by drinking the arsenic-laced milk, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday.
Doctors suspect the arsenic may have damaged the central nervous systems of the infants who drank milk sold by the Morinaga Milk Industry in 1955 when the arsenic contamination was discovered.
They speculate those infants who survived had damage that is showing up with advancing age.
The study was conducted at the request of an association that supports victims of the poisonings.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
