China says school condemned in TV pollution report is safe

Beijing — Investigators in eastern China say they have not found high levels of pollution around a school where an explosive state television report in April said hundreds of kids had fallen sick with illnesses including leukemia.

State media reported on Saturday that soil, air and water contamination levels at the Changzhou Foreign Language School were found to be within acceptable levels.

The school was built near recently closed chemical plants about 160km northwest of Shanghai.

China's central government launched a probe in April hours after CCTV, the state broadcaster, aired a segment saying 500 kids had fallen ill and soil tests showed toxic chemicals at 95 000 times the national limit.

The report sparked mass outrage in China, where citizens often blame weak government oversight for frequent public health scares.