News
China wakes up to the crisis of air pollution Published Online January 25, 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2213-2600(12)70065-6 For more on the pollution levels in January see http://www. nytimes.com/2013/01/13/ science/earth/beijing-airpollution-off-the-charts.html For the US Embassy readings see https://twitter.com/ BeijingAir For more on the controversy over the American Embassy’s release of air quality data see http://news.xinhuanet.com/ english/china/2012-06/05/c_131 633044.htm For more on China’s diesel fuel standards see http://www. chinadialogue.net/article/show/ single/en/4778
Zhang Hao/ColorChinaPhoto/AP/Press Association Images
For the study by Greenpeace and Peking University see http://www.greenpeace.org/ eastasia/Global/eastasia/ publications/reports/climateenergy/2012/Briefing%20 Dangerous%20Breathing%20 -%20Greenpeace.pdf
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On Jan 14, 2013, following a weekend of record levels of air pollution in Beijing, China, some of the city’s hospitals reported a surge in patients with respiratory ailments. Pollutionrelated respiratory distress has become so commonly felt in the city that “Beijing cough”, a phrase first coined by expats as early as 1990, is now a popular buzz word among both local residents and visitors. But one does not have to have a sore throat to understand the severity. The American Embassy in Beijing, which has been independently running an air monitoring system and releasing its readings since 2008, reported that the 24 h average level of particles with a diameter smaller than 2·5 μm (PM2·5) had reached 630 μg/m3. PM2·5 are among the most harmful pollutants because they can enter deeply into the lungs and bloodstream. The WHO’s guidelines deem 24-h average levels of PM2·5 above 25 μg/m3 unacceptable. “PM2·5 pose greater health risks because they can penetrate right into the alveoli”, says Nanshan Zhong, head of Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College. According to Zhong, his clinic in the southern city of Guangzhou often sees an increase of 10–15% in outpatient cases on hazy days. Across the country, chronic respiratory diseases are the second
leading cause of death, according to the WHO. Additionally, statistics from China’s Health Ministry showed the country’s death rates from lung cancer had more than quadrupled from 1973 to 2005. To address air pollution and minimise its health risks, the Beijing Government took emergency response measures over the weekend, including taking some Government vehicles off the road and halting outdoor activities for school children. Beijing’s environmental officials attributed the spike in air pollution to a cold winter in northern China, which caused an increase in coal consumption. This was combined with unfavourable weather conditions leading to the accumulation of pollutants—both pre-existing and newly created. “The pollution sources are there all the time, and this time the weather condition concentrated it”, says Alvin Lin, China Climate and Energy Policy Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Beijing. Although the public is getting increasingly aware of air pollution, the authorities have not always provided them with the level of transparency seen in this case. Beijing only started releasing readings on PM2·5 early last year in response to a public outcry over the city’s thick smog. Last June, discrepancies between Beijing’s official air quality measurements and the American Embassy’s singlelocation readings prompted Chinese officials to call the embassy’s release of air quality data “inaccurate”, “irresponsible”, and “unlawful”. Since the beginning of 2013, equipped with 496 monitoring stations, 74 cities around China began monitoring and releasing realtime readings on pollutants such as PM2·5 and ozone. These efforts show the Chinese environmental authorities are acknowledging the problem, says Lin, “but the question
is what you do about it”. Lin suggests the challenge lies in enforcement of environmental laws: for instance, China’s state oil companies have for years delayed the introduction of cleaner diesel fuel standards, compromising the Government’s efforts to control air pollution. “It’s big progress that they’ve started to face the reality”, says Zhong, adding that there is an absence of sufficient epidemiological data on air pollution-related illnesses. “There’s a huge lack of epidemiological research into the problem. Now the basic data [of air quality] can help [researchers] find connections between smog and respiratory disease, heart disease, neurological disease, and cancer. It is very important to show the policymakers how severe the problem is.” Results from a recently released study by Greenpeace and Peking University’s School of Public Health showed that in 2010 an estimated 7770 premature deaths in four Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xi’an) could be linked to PM2·5 air pollution, with a total economic loss of US$982 million. Pan Xiaochuan, lead author of the study and a Professor of Peking University’s School of Public Health, suggests that as air quality is better measured and public scrutiny is growing, more epidemiological studies need to be in place. “The people have become keenly aware of the problem and they react fast. In the past, they didn’t and couldn’t know about the density [of PM2·5], so they couldn’t link cough to air pollution. Now since the data have been made transparent and publicly available, they immediately assumed the respiratory distress they felt was connected to air pollution,” says Pan.
Yadan Ouyang www.thelancet.com/respiratory Vol 1 March 2013
China wakes up to the crisis of air pollution Published Online January 25, 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2213-2600(12)70065-6 For more on the pollution levels in January see http://www. nytimes.com/2013/01/13/ science/earth/beijing-airpollution-off-the-charts.html For the US Embassy readings see https://twitter.com/ BeijingAir For more on the controversy over the American Embassy’s release of air quality data see http://news.xinhuanet.com/ english/china/2012-06/05/c_131 633044.htm For more on China’s diesel fuel standards see http://www. chinadialogue.net/article/show/ single/en/4778
Zhang Hao/ColorChinaPhoto/AP/Press Association Images
For the study by Greenpeace and Peking University see http://www.greenpeace.org/ eastasia/Global/eastasia/ publications/reports/climateenergy/2012/Briefing%20 Dangerous%20Breathing%20 -%20Greenpeace.pdf
12
On Jan 14, 2013, following a weekend of record levels of air pollution in Beijing, China, some of the city’s hospitals reported a surge in patients with respiratory ailments. Pollutionrelated respiratory distress has become so commonly felt in the city that “Beijing cough”, a phrase first coined by expats as early as 1990, is now a popular buzz word among both local residents and visitors. But one does not have to have a sore throat to understand the severity. The American Embassy in Beijing, which has been independently running an air monitoring system and releasing its readings since 2008, reported that the 24 h average level of particles with a diameter smaller than 2·5 μm (PM2·5) had reached 630 μg/m3. PM2·5 are among the most harmful pollutants because they can enter deeply into the lungs and bloodstream. The WHO’s guidelines deem 24-h average levels of PM2·5 above 25 μg/m3 unacceptable. “PM2·5 pose greater health risks because they can penetrate right into the alveoli”, says Nanshan Zhong, head of Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College. According to Zhong, his clinic in the southern city of Guangzhou often sees an increase of 10–15% in outpatient cases on hazy days. Across the country, chronic respiratory diseases are the second
leading cause of death, according to the WHO. Additionally, statistics from China’s Health Ministry showed the country’s death rates from lung cancer had more than quadrupled from 1973 to 2005. To address air pollution and minimise its health risks, the Beijing Government took emergency response measures over the weekend, including taking some Government vehicles off the road and halting outdoor activities for school children. Beijing’s environmental officials attributed the spike in air pollution to a cold winter in northern China, which caused an increase in coal consumption. This was combined with unfavourable weather conditions leading to the accumulation of pollutants—both pre-existing and newly created. “The pollution sources are there all the time, and this time the weather condition concentrated it”, says Alvin Lin, China Climate and Energy Policy Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Beijing. Although the public is getting increasingly aware of air pollution, the authorities have not always provided them with the level of transparency seen in this case. Beijing only started releasing readings on PM2·5 early last year in response to a public outcry over the city’s thick smog. Last June, discrepancies between Beijing’s official air quality measurements and the American Embassy’s singlelocation readings prompted Chinese officials to call the embassy’s release of air quality data “inaccurate”, “irresponsible”, and “unlawful”. Since the beginning of 2013, equipped with 496 monitoring stations, 74 cities around China began monitoring and releasing realtime readings on pollutants such as PM2·5 and ozone. These efforts show the Chinese environmental authorities are acknowledging the problem, says Lin, “but the question
is what you do about it”. Lin suggests the challenge lies in enforcement of environmental laws: for instance, China’s state oil companies have for years delayed the introduction of cleaner diesel fuel standards, compromising the Government’s efforts to control air pollution. “It’s big progress that they’ve started to face the reality”, says Zhong, adding that there is an absence of sufficient epidemiological data on air pollution-related illnesses. “There’s a huge lack of epidemiological research into the problem. Now the basic data [of air quality] can help [researchers] find connections between smog and respiratory disease, heart disease, neurological disease, and cancer. It is very important to show the policymakers how severe the problem is.” Results from a recently released study by Greenpeace and Peking University’s School of Public Health showed that in 2010 an estimated 7770 premature deaths in four Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xi’an) could be linked to PM2·5 air pollution, with a total economic loss of US$982 million. Pan Xiaochuan, lead author of the study and a Professor of Peking University’s School of Public Health, suggests that as air quality is better measured and public scrutiny is growing, more epidemiological studies need to be in place. “The people have become keenly aware of the problem and they react fast. In the past, they didn’t and couldn’t know about the density [of PM2·5], so they couldn’t link cough to air pollution. Now since the data have been made transparent and publicly available, they immediately assumed the respiratory distress they felt was connected to air pollution,” says Pan.
Yadan Ouyang www.thelancet.com/respiratory Vol 1 March 2013
