( CNN ) -- Liangqiao , a small collection of huts and farms in southern China , is known as a cancer village . Zhu Chun Yun lost her husband to cancer and now worries for her daughter 's health . It is where Hu Xiaoping , a husband and father and a farmer , died an agonizing death at age 30 one year after being diagnosed with colon cancer . His widow , Zhu Chun Yun , blames his death on the brown and rust-colored water from the river , which farmers use to irrigate their crops . `` The doctor in the hospital told us not to live here , '' she told CNN through an interpreter . `` He said do n't eat the rice and do n't drink the water . '' Residents of Liangqiao say their river is polluted because of the iron-ore mine about 35 miles away , which is run by a nationally owned company . Mining for iron-ore exposes naturally occurring heavy metals like arsenic and cadmium , which are both carcinogens . Without proper water treatment facilities , water contaminated with high levels of these metals is hazardous and can possibly cause cancer . Jingjing Zhang , an environmental lawyer who is working the villagers who want to sue the government , said the Dabaoshan mine has been polluting the Hengshui River for decades . `` I always had a dream to live in a place where there 's a clean river I can swim in , but this dream seems very difficult to achieve in China now , '' she said . Twenty-eight people in this village of 400 have died over the last 10 years from cancer -- a rate much higher than the rest of country . The overall mortality rate for 2006 was 137 deaths per 100,000 residents . Pollution is a serious problem throughout China . The Chinese ministry of health reported that increased pollution has made cancer the leading cause of death in the country . China , along with the United States , is a leading emitter of greenhouse gases , which experts say can contribute to global warming . In terms of total emissions , China is projected by the International Energy Association to become the world 's leading greenhouse gas producing country this year . It can also impact the U.S. food supply . The amount of food imported from China has grown dramatically in the past decade . According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture , the United States imported $ 4.1 billion worth of seafood and agricultural products from China in 2006 . In 1995 , it was $ 800 million . In June , the United States banned five types of fish and shrimp from China because inspectors found traces of cancer-causing chemicals and antibiotics in the products . Small villages like Liangqiao have little recourse against big companies that might be polluting their air or water . CNN talked to the mine 's director who acknowledged environmental issues with the mine , but said it was n't a problem that could be solved overnight . He said some of the smaller , privately owned mines should share blame for the problems . The mine has given the villagers some compensation . About 1,700 Yuan ( $ 200 ) for the whole village , Zhang told CNN . Zhang continues to build her case against the mine , trying to win compensation for medical testing , health care and damage to the village 's rice crops . She hopes to go to trial next year . Water tests from Huanan Agricultural University have concluded the Hengshui is indeed too toxic for any human use , in stark contrast to what Jingjing said the government told the villagers . They told her `` we already meet all environmental standards , '' she said . China is trying to address its pollution problem . In September , the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration shut down 400 companies for water-pollution violations and suspended 249 other businesses , according to China Daily . And last week China announced a joint campaign with the European Union to clean up China 's two largest river basins . The government hopes to have a dramatically cleaner country by August , when it will be host to the Olympics . It is too late for Zhu 's husband . She said that after he got cancer he was unable to work and he reluctantly went for medical treatment . `` He did n't want to go to the hospital because he worried we did n't have enough money to bring up our daughter , '' she said . Zhu told CNN she does n't have time to be sad . All she worries about is caring for daughter and her small plot of land . The villagers have figured out a way to pipe clean drinking water down from a nearby mountain , but they still use the dirty water to irrigate the crops . `` They have no other choice , '' Jingjing said . E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Dr. Sanjay Gupta contributed to this report .
River through village darkened by discharges from iron-ore mine . The river is a major source of drinking water for the city and its surrounding areas. U.S. imported $ 4.1B worth of seafood , agricultural products from China in 2006 . Chinese agency cracked down on polluters in September .