Migration and resettlement stage

Chutian Metropolis Daily reporter Jun Chen

The world selenium capital, Wuling Pearl Enshi.

This is the location of "the only proven independent selenium deposit in the world". Domestic selenium reserves rank first in the world, and it is also the region with the richest natural biological selenium resources in the world. It is the only place in the world that has won the title of "Selenium Capital of the World".

The largest selenium mine in the world is located in Yutangba Village, Xiangxiaba Village, Xintang, Enshi City, among the mountains. At the beginning of September, the reporter walked into the untouched virgin forest in the depths of the mountains, visited the hole where selenium mine was mined decades ago, touched the black selenium mine, and listened to the history and changes of the local elderly.

As an important local characteristic industry, the intensive processing of selenium-enriched food not only drives a large number of farmers out of poverty and becomes rich, but also proposes to implement the selenium standard system construction project to promote the high-quality development of selenium industry. Enshi Selenium Resources Protection and Development Center is also actively planning, developing industrial clusters, and deeply expanding the cultural connotation of selenium.

Hiking through the jungle and exploring dark mines

Enshi Xintang, Yutangba, deep mountains and old forests.

Direct sunlight burns the skin, and the wind on the mountain at an altitude of 1500 meters is very cool. Follow the road to the foot of the mountain, and there is no dense forest at the end. Several villagers pointed to the undulating ridges and said that these mountains are all selenium mines, and the mining wellhead is in the deepest place, and only the path can reach them.

Dong Shisen, a villager in Xiaba Village, runs a large-scale farmhouse on the roadside. He grew up in the mountains and served as a guide for many famous donkey friends. Under his leadership, the reporter of Chutian Metropolis Daily walked slowly to the mine along the winding gravel road. Along the way, the mountains are full of spring scenery, the branches and leaves are bare, and all kinds of wild flowers bloom in the mountains, spreading the vitality and beauty of early autumn.

Push away weeds, step on vines and waist-deep thatch, and walk along a trickle to the depths of the mountains. A sweet potato field by the roadside is quite messy. Dong Shisen pointed to the trace and said that the wild boar came at night and ate the crops all over. When you are tired, have a rest on the rock. When you are thirsty, you scoop up a stream with magnolia leaves and drink it happily.

Over several ridges and down several steep slopes, I saw that Gu Teng was dense and lush, and a dark cave suddenly appeared in front of me.

This is an ordinary cave with no obvious signs. The mouth of the cave is small, about ten feet high, with smooth outer wall and overgrown with moss. The hole is six or seven feet deep, and the black ones are all black shale, which are stacked like building blocks. Dong Shisen said that this is the selenium mine. The darker the color, the greater the selenium content. I saw him climb up the rock wall and dig with his hands. Holding a selenium mine in his hand, the powder was scattered all over the floor. "Take a little back and sprinkle a little in the soil. The vegetables grown are all original ecological selenium-enriched foods. " Dong Shisen said.

Before, no one found the value of this cave. It stood proudly in the wind and rain. Only trees, weeds and wooden bridges accompany them.

The villagers who lost their hair and nails thought they were poisoned.

Grandpa He, 78, still lives at the foot of the mountain. Speaking of the past half a century ago, he held out his finger. "I thought it was poisoned."

The old man said that when the production team was here more than 50 years ago, the villagers of Yutangba suddenly lost their hair and nails collectively. At that time, the radishes, cabbages and potatoes planted in the fields drank all the spring water from the mountains, but as long as people in the mountains near Yutangba ate and drank the water, their hair and nails fell off seriously, and the villagers were scared to think they were poisoned. What is even more frightening is that villagers can't find the cause when they go to the city to see a doctor, but as long as they leave Yutangba for a period of time, people will recover automatically.

Besides people, livestock are not immune. Pigs are fed with locally grown corn, but they die strangely before they grow up. Cattle's hooves also fall off after eating grass, and they will die seriously.

For example, at that time, the villagers in Yutangba took blood tests, and the selenium content in blood reached dozens of micrograms per 100 ml, which was hundreds of times higher than 0. 1 microgram/100 ml. But as long as people leave that environment, they can recover from immortality and animals will die.

Discovery of selenium-enriched resources by unknown diseases

Villagers in Yutangba and other places have hair loss and onychomycosis for unknown reasons. Provincial, prefectural and county medical and health departments have organized medical teams to go deep into the ward for medical rounds many times, and the cause is still unknown.

During the period of 1966, Hubei Provincial Health and Epidemic Prevention Station sent a corn from Yutangba to the laboratory of Professor Yang Guangqi from the Institute of Health, Chinese Academy of Preventive Sciences. Professor Yang Guangqi is studying the relationship between Keshan disease and selenium. After testing, the selenium content in corn reached 44mg/kg, which was the highest in the world at that time. The results confirmed that unexplained hair loss was endemic selenium poisoning, and the unexplained hair loss and nail loss that had plagued the villagers for a long time finally came out.

After the diagnosis of endemic selenium poisoning, the local government took a series of measures, such as relocation of immigrants and closing hillsides to facilitate afforestation. By 1969, endemic selenium poisoning was effectively controlled, and no patients with selenium poisoning occurred after 1987.

Selenium is an essential trace element for human body, and it will be poisoned if ingested too much, but effective intake of selenium is effective for the prevention and treatment of many diseases such as cancer.

Yutangba once contained huge treasures. According to the geological survey, the exposed area of selenium-containing carbonaceous shale in Enshi City is 850 square kilometers, and the highest selenium content in rocks in Yutangba mining area is 6300mg/kg, which is 1 1 times of the highest selenium-containing rocks found abroad. This selenium mine rewrote the assertion that "selenium cannot form an independent industrial deposit" and became the only rare independent industrial selenium deposit in the world so far. The magical selenium deposit is the only independent selenium deposit found in the world so far, with a selenium reserve of 2.5 billion tons, which is a rare typical selenium-enriched area in China and even the whole world. "A flower attracts a hundred flowers." The discovery of selenium deposits has made this ordinary cave, which has been sleeping in the mountains for hundreds of millions of years, become the focus of world attention.

Enshi was awarded the title of "Selenium Capital of the World" by the 14th International Conference on Trace Elements for People and Animals (TEMA 14) on September 9th, 20/65438.

Planning industrial clusters around selenium resources

From 20 14 65438+ 10/0 to 18, the first China Selenium Products Expo and Enshi World Selenium Products Expo in China were held in Enshi Cultural Center. Selenium shines "the fire of life" in Enshi, the selenium capital of the world; Selenium, with the grand event as the swaying stage, brings health gospel to people in selenium-deficient countries and regions around the world.

Since then, Selenium Expo has become a comprehensive and worldwide platform for spreading selenium culture, selling selenium products, displaying selenium industry and promoting selenium research.

On September 3, the reporter went to Selenium Valley Science and Technology Park in Enshi High-tech Zone. Selenium-enriched products include amino acids and concentrated drinks. According to the person in charge of the enterprise, the largest selenium theme complex project in Enshi is currently under construction, and it is planned to invest 360 million yuan to build a complete selenium industrial chain enterprise and build a national-level "selenium-enriched health" tourist town.

In the next step, Enshi will implement a diversified selenium product marketing strategy to promote "selenium products out of the mountain" in all directions. Deepen the development of selenium culture, and enrich selenium culture from farming culture, ecological culture, geological culture, health preservation culture, diet culture, longevity culture and folk culture with Enshi characteristics.