China's AIR POLLUTION A HAZARD for the region

It is feared that the atmospheric contamination could further spread when winter sets in, with a massive amount of coal to be burned for heating. The Chinese government must take swift measures to fight the worsening pollution.
Last Monday, the concentration of PM2.5 topped the observable upper limit of 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre in Harbin. The airborne particles, 2.5 micrometres in diametre or smaller, are considered most harmful to health.

The figure far exceeds Japan’s environmental safety standard for PM2.5, set at an average of 35 micrograms per day.

This dire situation is not limited to Harbin. Beijing has been blanketed with thick smog. On many days, the Chinese capital has seen its PM2.5 pollution reach the “serious” level – the worst reading on the six-grade scale of air pollution.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organisation, has certified that PM2.5 can cause cancer, saying that its cancer-causing risk is comparable to those of asbestos and smoking.

PM2.5 particles can find their way deep into the lungs and can cause asthma and bronchitis. The IARC had every reason to assert that the international community must take quick steps to address the problem. There also are concerns about the health of Japanese residents in China.

What must be done to fight the air pollution is, first of all, to install desulfurisation equipment at coal-fired power stations and factories in China.

Another pressing task is to reduce the air contamination caused by exhaust gases from more than 200 million cars and motorcycles on Chinese streets. Gasoline used in China contains a good deal of sulfur, a source of high-concentration pollutants. It is imperative to improve the quality of gasoline used in China.

The key to success – or failure– is whether the government of President Xi Jinping will be able to reform his country’s petroleum industry, which has long been able to gain exorbitant profits by selling low-quality products, an achievement made possible through its strong political clout.

Japan cannot dismiss China’s air pollution as someone else’s problem. PM2.5 and other pollutants have been carried by the prevailing westerly winds to Japan, especially the western part of the nation.

Environmental protection is an important task that Japan and China must carry out together, despite their feud over the Senkaku Islands.

The authorities in Beijing are scheduled to send a team of officials in charge of the problem to Tokyo by the end of the month. The Chinese government also has invited some Japanese experts to visit China. This apparently indicates a sense of urgency shared by both countries about the air pollution in China.

We believe Japan’s environmental know-how – the technological solutions to its own past air pollution problems – will do much to improve the situation in China.