Cause of death data show that Lianshui County has a high incidence of
oesophagus cancer. This chapter considers health risks in the county from
the perspective of environmental history. After the Yellow River became
blocked and took over the course of the Huai River, it caused Lianshui to
suffer an 800-year period of floods, waterlogging and attendant disasters.
This brought prolonged poverty and water-related health risks. The later
conversion of dry fields to rice paddy brought further changes in the water
environment of Lianshui’s villages, connecting drinking water sources to
the agricultural irrigation system, and causing new health risks. However,
as the economic circumstances of the village improved, so did the drinking
water supply, and water-related health risks then declined.
SP-0213: Oesophagus cancer