On Aug. 4, 2003, construction workers in the northeastern city of Qiqihar inadvertently unearthed five barrels of mustard gas. Unaware of their contents, they sold them on as scrap. By the time authorities realized what had happened and got the situation under control, 44 people had been hospitalized. One, a scrap metal collector named Li Guizhen, died within days.
The survivors were only marginally luckier. After spending weeks, even months in the hospital, they came home to hostile communities, failing businesses, and a litany of persistent, expensive medical problems, including respiratory issues, failing eyesight, and later, cancer.
Gao Ming (b. 1995) was the youngest victim of the so-called 8/4 Incident, when five barrels of mustard gas were unearthed from a construction site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province on Aug. 4, 2003.
Xu Zhifu (b. 1958) was a victim of the so-called 8/4 Incident, when five barrels of mustard gas were unearthed from a construction site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province on Aug. 4, 2003.
Yang Shumao (b. 1964) was a victim of the so-called 8/4 Incident, when five barrels of mustard gas were unearthed from a construction site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province on Aug. 4, 2003.
“Ghosts from the Shells” is an interactive project about the fears that haunt them, the triumphs that animate them, and their long, slow struggle to stay alive.
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