26/04/2014
Think Carefully and Ask Questions – Pollution in China
There are now over one hundred international schools and educational institutions catering mainly for foreign students in China. These places of learning are scattered in numerous cities. Some have been establish for a relatively long period of time, although most have have recently opened. This is due to the rapid development of second tier cities, many with populations exceeding five million people.
A really important consideration for parent of children and also teachers considering employment in China is pollution.
Without being an alarmist, the pollution situation in China is really serious and has huge local, national and global implications. Quite often, parents of children and teachers seeking employment in China are largely unaware of the factual situation regarding pollution. In some cities, particularly in Northern China, weeks can past without being able to see the sunshine. It is no exaggeration to say that many cities are almost permanently under a pall of toxic smog. The China Daily (April 15/2014) reported that residents in Beijing and most parts of Northern China were advised to stay indoors due to excessive pollution.
How is some factual information regarding the current situation of pollution in China. Needless to say, when you attend a job interview or get around to signing an employment contract, it is unlikely that you will be given solid data about the pollution situation throughout China.
Recently Greenpeace China released the summary of its 2013 survey of Chinese air quality. This report has been fully endorsed by the World Health Organisation and acknowledged by the Chinese Government.
Of the many findings in the report, perhaps the most disturbing was of the 74 cities reviewed, none of them met the World Health Organization’s recommendations for particulate matter (an example is soot from the burning of coal) of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5). In 2012, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection established an annual standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter for PM2.5. The WHO recommends a maximum of 10 micrograms per cubic meter, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard is 12.
By recording the micrograms per cubic meter for PM2.5, an air quality index (AQI) calculation is formulated. The table below defines the health implications for different AQI recordings.
AQI Air Pollution Level Health Implications
0 - 50 Good Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk
51 -100 Moderate Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
101-150 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.
151-200 Unhealthy Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
201-300 Very Unhealthy Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.
300+ Hazardous Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects.
The worst polluted province is Hebei. Seven of its cities measured over 3 times the Chinese standard for PM2.5. The worst city of all was Xingtai in southern Hebei. It averaged 155.2 micrograms per cubic meter.
Beijing, often the focus of media attention with numerous international schools and educational institutions, finished 13th, with an average of 90.1, behind Xi’an and Tianjin among big cities, and just ahead of Wuhan and Chengdu.
Overall, northern China is much more polluted than southern China. Each of the top 13 most polluted cities were north of the Huai River, a traditional dividing line located in Henan.
Southern coastal cities are the least polluted. Each of Guangdong’s cities ranked among the 20 least polluted cities, Both of Fuzhou’s cities, Fujian and Xiamen, met China’s standards, averaging 33.2 and 31.3 respectively. Finally, Haikou, on the topical island of Hainan, south of Guangdong, was the least polluted of all, averaging 25.6 micrograms per cubic meter. Although Haikou has relatively low pollution, it still exceeds the standards set by the World Health Organisation.
The 74 cities in the report were chosen because they are among the first to implement new air quality standards put in place by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. There are literally hundreds of other cities, particularly in the industrial north that have not yet implemented the new air quality standards. Almost all of these cities are heavily polluted and there is growing evidence that there level of pollution is excessively dangerous.
Compounding the problem of the terrible quality of air, an official report issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Land and Resources (China Daily, 18/4/2014) outlined that almost 20% of all arable farming land is contaminated as an outcome of the particles contained in the air, combined with the excessive usage of chemicals used for fertilizers and run off from factories. Much of this land is under cultivation and the produce, such fruits, vegetables and dairy products, are sold throughout markets all over China. Furthermore, the official report stated the following findings using Chinese standards, which are more generous than those used in Western countries.
• 16.1% of mainland soil contaminated (11.2% slightly, 2.3% mildly, moderately 1.5%, 1.1% heavily)
• 19.4% of farmland contaminated (13.7 slightly, 2.8% mildly, 1.8% moderately, 1.1% heavily)
• 10% of woodland contaminated (5.9% slightly, 1.6% mildly, 1.2% moderately, 1.3 heavily)
• 10.4% of grassland contaminated (7.6% slightly, 1.2% mildly, 0.9% moderately, 0.7% heavily)
• 11.4% of unused land contaminated (8.4% slightly, 1.1% mildly, 0.9% moderately, 1.0% heavily)
To investigate further air quality index of various cities in China, go to this website http://aqicn.org/map/china/
The editor advises all parents and teachers to independently research the pollution levels of any cities that they may be visiting or contemplating for long term accommodation.
The top 20 worst polluted cities are as follows:
Ranking City Province Average Annual PM2.5 Measure Highest PM2.5 Measure
1 Xingtai Hebei 155.2 688
2 Shijiazhuang Hebei 148.5 676
3 Baoding Hebei 127.9 675
4 Handan Hebei 127.8 662
5 Hengshui Hebei 120.6 712
6 Tangshan Hebei 114.2 497
7 Jinan Shandong 114.0 490
8 Langfang Hebei 113.8 772
9 Xi’an Shaanxi 104.2 598
10 Zhengzhou Henan 102.4 422
11 Tianjin Tianjin 95.6 394
12 Cangzhou Hebei 93.6 380
13 Beijing Beijing 90.1 646
14 Wuhan Hubei 88.7 339
15 Chengdu Sichuan 86.3 374
16 Wulumuqi Xinjiang 85.2 387
17 Hefei Anhui 84.9 383
18 Taizhou Jiangsu 80.9 474
19 Taizhou Jiangsu 80.8 513
20 Changsha Hunan 79.1 325
Other notable cities:
24 Nanjing Jiangsu 75.3 312
47 Qingdao Shandong 61.7 280
48 Shanghai Shanghai 60.7 421
55 GuangzhouGuangdong52.5 159
57 Dalian Liaoning 50.7 224
The 10 least polluted cities:
Ranking City Province Average Annual PM2.5 Measure Highest PM2.5 Measure
1 Haikou Hainan 25.6 130
2 Lasha Tibet 26.0 101
3 Xiamen Fujian 31.3 89
4 Danshan Zhejiang 32.1 353
5 Fuzhou Fujian 33.2 112
6 Kunming Yunnan 35.5 123
7 Huizhou Guangdong37.2 121
8 Zhuhai Guangdong37.9 157
9 Shenzhen Guangdong39.7 131
10 ZhangjiakouHebei 43.1 471
Beijing Air Pollution: PM2.5, PM10 Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI)
