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Clearer picture of city pollution promised
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ENVIRONMENTAL officials say they are going to provide more detailed data on the composition and sources of Shanghai’s air pollution.
It will reveal seasonal factors and differences across the city and inform plans to tackle pollutants, the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau said yesterday.
This was in reply to a proposal from Shanghai People’s Congress Deputy Tang Jingbo, who queried an existing breakdown of pollutant sources and called for more precise data.
Pollutant PM2.5 has been reported the main source of smog in Shanghai, especially in winter. It is considered particularly harmful as the tiny particles can get deep into the respiratory system.
According to the bureau, 25 percent of the PM2.5 in Shanghai’s air comes from industrial emissions, with 20 percent from motor vehicles. Another 20 percent originates outside of Shanghai, with the remainder from sources including bonfires — banned under recent city legislation — and construction site dust.
But lawmaker Tang questioned these figures, telling Oriental Morning Post that the bureau has insufficient PM2.5 data to make these claims.
Tang also said the source of pollutants can’t be determined solely from their chemical composition.
He said that while the public is frequently told that nitrogen oxide comes from vehicle emissions, some is created in manufacturing.
In response, the bureau acknowledged that the PM2.5 breakdown was an initial report of the average situation, as the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center only last year began reporting PM2.5 density.
And the bureau admitted that when smog was very heavy it was difficult to establish the specific composition and sources of pollutants.
On heavily polluted days, PM2.5 particles from outside of the city contribute far more than 20 percent of the total, said the bureau.
The bureau said Tang’s suggestions were welcomed and that more intensive data-collecting is currently taking place.
A more detailed report on the cause of Shanghai’s air pollution in different seasons and in different districts will be issued following approval from experts, it added.
No timescale was provided.
The bureau is also looking to introduce new material for city roads to cut down on dust.
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