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01/31/2013 13:09
CHINA
Beijing pollution "more dangerous than SARS"
Zhong Nanshan, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of the Institute for respiratory diseases in Guangzhou, warns: "We could defend ourselves from the terrible infection but it is impossible to escape this smog." Peak in hospital admissions for the "Beijing cough", citizens vent anger on the internet: "This is the price to pay for economic growth
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In the last three weeks the city is actually invisible. A blanket of smog makes it impossible for flights to and from the capital, and the levels of PM2.5 (particulate matter - dust - Airborne 2.5 micrograms per cubic meter) continue to oscillate between 340 and 360. A value of 100 is considered dangerous to the health of people with heart or lung diseases, children and the elderly. The World Health Organization has a limit of 20 for normal air. The local government has ordered the closure of some factories and limited traffic, but to no success.
Zhong is known in China for leading experimental research on SARS in 2003 and having created guidelines for the prevention and management of the infection in Guangdong province. His alarm related to pollution is real: the number of children hospitalized in the last four days for respiratory problems is at almost 3000, and doctors now speak of the "Beijing cough". According to the Beijing Morning Post, hospital admissions increased by 20% in the last week, mostly for respiratory problems...
Full text:
CHINA
Beijing pollution "more dangerous than SARS"
Zhong Nanshan, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of the Institute for respiratory diseases in Guangzhou, warns: "We could defend ourselves from the terrible infection but it is impossible to escape this smog." Peak in hospital admissions for the "Beijing cough", citizens vent anger on the internet: "This is the price to pay for economic growth
...
In the last three weeks the city is actually invisible. A blanket of smog makes it impossible for flights to and from the capital, and the levels of PM2.5 (particulate matter - dust - Airborne 2.5 micrograms per cubic meter) continue to oscillate between 340 and 360. A value of 100 is considered dangerous to the health of people with heart or lung diseases, children and the elderly. The World Health Organization has a limit of 20 for normal air. The local government has ordered the closure of some factories and limited traffic, but to no success.
Zhong is known in China for leading experimental research on SARS in 2003 and having created guidelines for the prevention and management of the infection in Guangdong province. His alarm related to pollution is real: the number of children hospitalized in the last four days for respiratory problems is at almost 3000, and doctors now speak of the "Beijing cough". According to the Beijing Morning Post, hospital admissions increased by 20% in the last week, mostly for respiratory problems...
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