On Feb. 4 China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection announced that a thick fog containing toxic substances had spread to cover a quarter of the country’s landmass and had affected about 600 million people, or half of the population. Since the effects of the dense fog were compiled through Jan. 24, it is highly likely that the pollution is even more widespread than reported. China, which aims to double its 2010 GDP by 2020, faces increasing criticism about air pollution from its people. The primary sources of pollution are automobiles, coal-burning power plants, factories and household heating. The Ministry said it recognizes the problem and announced a goal to reduce the concentration of PM2.5 (particulates less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) in key areas by 5% by 2015, but 70% of China’s cities do not meet the government’s air quality standards. Beijing alone was enveloped in toxic fog for 26 days in January, and the average daily PM2.5 level of 900 mg/m3 recorded on Jan. 12 was 26 times the Japanese standard. Meanwhile, the prefectures of Kyushu are on alert for incoming air pollutants from China. Efforts have been underway to install PM2.5 monitors and establish systems to provide citizens with up-to-the-minute information on air quality. Fukuoka Prefecture installed 10 PM2.5 monitors in January to enable the constant surveillance of the particulates across most of the prefecture. It will also begin releasing early estimates of the monitors’ readings on its homepage on Feb. 5. Data for most locations will be updated hourly. Kumamoto, Oita, Saga, Nagasaki and Miyazaki have also installed monitors. The former two prefectures already disclose measurement data on their homepages, while Saga and Miyazaki plan to do so in the near future. Kagoshima added one monitor and will begin releasing data from all three of its monitors on the Ministry of the Environment homepage in FY2013. While air pollutants from China are being carried by wind currents into Kyushu, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment stated that “human health would not be affected by the current levels”.
Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Feb. 5 (photo for image purpose only)
