(page 3 of 5) Chromium-6 plays a starring role in the movie "Erin Brockovich." It's based on a true story in which a paralegal (portrayed on screen by Julia Roberts) helped a California town's residents win $333 million from a utility that had leaked chromium into their water. Breathing chromium-6 has long been linked with lung cancer. According to U.S. authorities, ingesting the substance can damage the stomach, kidneys and liver. Shortly after the Rongping factory opened, villagers started complaining that the emissions into the river were affecting their crops. Bamboo groves they harvested to sell to toy and chopstick makers shriveled and died. Downstream, in the nearby village of Houlong, Zheng Jiayao says he and his neighbors noticed fewer fish and shrimp and a strange smell coming from the green slime sometimes coating the water. The factory offered to pay compensation to a handful of families whose plots abutted the factory gates. But it continued full operations. Mr. Zhang is a "barefoot doctor," someone trained by the government to administer simple remedies and sent to remote areas that are too small to attract a doctor with a full medical degree. He arrived in Xiping in 1984. Over the years, the father of four built a comfortable practice. In the late 1990s Mr. Zhang began noticing a spike in illnesses including stomach ailments, skin rashes and breathing problems. Combing through handwritten notes, he saw the change dated back to the factory's opening in 1994. More alarming was a rise in cancer cases. The disease accounted for just one of 13 deaths in the village between 1990 and 1994. Between 1999 and 2001, 17 of 24 deaths were cancer-related, Mr. Zhang found. Cancer victims included two 18-year-old girls and a 3-year-old boy. In 1999, Mr. Zhang and a handful of other farmers started a letter-writing campaign. He says he drew inspiration from the Erin Brockovich movie, of which he has a copy at home. "I thought if the leaders only knew what was going on, they'd fix it," he said. With each unanswered letter, he sent his complaints higher up the chain of command. Liu Xianbin, a former soldier with a gaunt frame who had developed cancer, enthusiastically joined in. Mr. Liu enlisted a friend to write a letter in English to former President Bill Clinton. He didn't get an answer, but he says he was questioned by local authorities about the letter and detained for a day.         PREVIOUS PAGE RETURN TO BIO NEXT PAGE