Nation to adopt stricter air pollution standard
By Ni Yinbin |
December 8, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A GOVERNMENT proposal for a tighter system of monitoring pollution nationwide, including using a "PM2.5" measure of microscopic airborne particles, has won support from a majority of the public, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said yesterday.
The new standard would require air-quality watchdogs to monitor airborne particles - those measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter - and publish the findings.
The ministry said it surveyed the public on including a PM2.5 index in the current air quality standard and had received positive feedback.
By Tuesday, it had collected more than 1,500 responses - most of which supported monitoring PM2.5.
Finer pollution particles have received increased public attention in China, especially in Beijing, in the past two years after the United States Embassy began monitoring air quality with its own PM2.5 sensor, posting daily results on Twitter.com, Xinhua news agency reported.
Chinese cities currently adopt the less sensitive PM10 standard.
Public discontent was fueled by discrepancy between government data and the US Embassy's measurements after an incident where the US Embassy in Beijing rated the air as "hazardous" while the city's Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said pollution was "slight."
"I don't trust the data of the environmental bureau," said Beijing resident Bei Zhicheng. "It's useless. I trust more of my own feelings and the data of the US Embassy."
Bei said he had bought a 5,000 yuan (US$784) PM2.5 sensor on the Internet and got similar results to the US Embassy.
Beijing saw a significant increase in the number of hazy days this autumn compared to previous years. Weather experts said the rise had a direct connection with heavier air pollution, in particular, harmful polluting particulates smaller than 2.5 microns.
Such particulates are produced by vehicle emissions, industrial manufacturing, coal burning and mineral materials treatment.
Health experts say PM2.5 particles pose great health risks. About a 30th the width of a human hair, they are small enough to lodge deep into the lungs and even the bloodstream, causing long-term problems and premature death in some cases.
"Dust-haze could replace cigarette smoking and become the first cause of lung cancer," said Wu Dui, a chief expert at the meteorological bureau in Guangdong Province. Wu said his team had already found that the lung cancer rate rose every seven or eight years after the concentration of PM2.5 increased.
The new standard is due to be implemented nationwide in 2016, but the government may designate certain regions to adopt it ahead of schedule.
The new standard would require air-quality watchdogs to monitor airborne particles - those measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter - and publish the findings.
The ministry said it surveyed the public on including a PM2.5 index in the current air quality standard and had received positive feedback.
By Tuesday, it had collected more than 1,500 responses - most of which supported monitoring PM2.5.
Finer pollution particles have received increased public attention in China, especially in Beijing, in the past two years after the United States Embassy began monitoring air quality with its own PM2.5 sensor, posting daily results on Twitter.com, Xinhua news agency reported.
Chinese cities currently adopt the less sensitive PM10 standard.
Public discontent was fueled by discrepancy between government data and the US Embassy's measurements after an incident where the US Embassy in Beijing rated the air as "hazardous" while the city's Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said pollution was "slight."
"I don't trust the data of the environmental bureau," said Beijing resident Bei Zhicheng. "It's useless. I trust more of my own feelings and the data of the US Embassy."
Bei said he had bought a 5,000 yuan (US$784) PM2.5 sensor on the Internet and got similar results to the US Embassy.
Beijing saw a significant increase in the number of hazy days this autumn compared to previous years. Weather experts said the rise had a direct connection with heavier air pollution, in particular, harmful polluting particulates smaller than 2.5 microns.
Such particulates are produced by vehicle emissions, industrial manufacturing, coal burning and mineral materials treatment.
Health experts say PM2.5 particles pose great health risks. About a 30th the width of a human hair, they are small enough to lodge deep into the lungs and even the bloodstream, causing long-term problems and premature death in some cases.
"Dust-haze could replace cigarette smoking and become the first cause of lung cancer," said Wu Dui, a chief expert at the meteorological bureau in Guangdong Province. Wu said his team had already found that the lung cancer rate rose every seven or eight years after the concentration of PM2.5 increased.
The new standard is due to be implemented nationwide in 2016, but the government may designate certain regions to adopt it ahead of schedule.
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