Toxic Smog from China Engulfs Korea

[JI7]

Source: chosunilbo

Heavy smog blanketed Korea this week blown in by northwesterly winds from China. The concentration of ultrafine particles is often at its worst between December and March, with most of the smog comes from Beijing and surrounding Hebei Province.

On Thursday, the concentration of ultrafine particles in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province north of Seoul, reached 255㎍/㎥, five times the normal level in the region. It stood at 138 ㎍/㎥ in Incheon and 112㎍/㎥ in the capital.

The concentration of ultrafine particles in Dongducheon was 2.5 times greater than the safe level set by the Environment Ministry of 100㎍/㎥ per day.

Dust can cause asthma and other respiratory illnesses as well as cardiovascular diseases, but the most hazardous substance is ultrafine particles that are not filtered by the bronchial tubes and directly enter the lungs, where they can cause pneumonia.

Smog also contains toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic. "Unlike sandstorms, smog contains various chemicals and heavy metals that react with the sunlight and multiply," said Chun Young-shin at the Korea Meteorological Administration.

It is difficult to predict smog levels since it is not clear where it originates and how many pollutants it contains. The Chinese government does not reveal data about the origin of pollutants, but the most polluted parts of China are along the east coast, which is near Korea.

Read more: http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/11/01/2013110101543.html

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[winstars]

1. I thought I read somewhere that 20% of LA smog is actually from China...

[dipsydoodle]

6. That does not sound plausible

.

[winstars]

8. I know but I think the premise was that the smog travels in the air currents west to east

I do not have a link as I said I read it somewhere a while ago.

[modrepub]

10. Back of the Envelop Calculation

The US Embassy in Beijing recorded some very high PM-2.5 readings back in 2008 before the Olympics. The highest daily PM-2.5 (fine particulate or smog) reading I found on the web was 722 ug/m3. The reading in Incheon was 122 ug/m3. Distance between Incheon and Beijing is about 570 miles so there was a reduction in PM-2.5 concentrations of roughly 0.169. The distance between LA and Beijing is about 11 times greater (6,250 miles) than the distance between Incheon and Beijing so linearly extrapolating this you'd get a reduction of 0.015. That would mean Beijing's PM-2.5 concentrations would be expected to be reduced to 11 ug/m3 once they get to LA. According to EPA's website the average 98th% worst daily readings of PM-2.5 (smoggiest days) between 2010 and 2012 was 38 ug/m3. So taking 11 ug/m3 and comparing it to LA's worst averages if Beijing air was transported to the west coast of CA would represent approximately 29% of the pollutant load.

This claim, by my calculation, would appear to be plausible.

[ourfuneral]

2. How did the smog make it to the House of Representatives in Washington?

I mean, come on, there's gotta be a reason the fucking baggers are so dumb!

[davidpdx]

3. This is pretty common in the spring and fall

They take their shit on mother nature and share it with everyone else. I've jokingly sad that Korea should build a huge fan and blow it back at them (think Death Star size). It would fucking serve them right.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

4. I know where that Mao statue is. Chang'an Park in central Shijiazhuang. I used to live

less than a mile from it.

As for the article. . .I lived in both places. Anyone who knows about the prevailing westerlies should know this. Hebei is a massive heavy industry area, as is Beijing, Jilin and Liaoning.

Most of northern China is heavy industry.

I live in the south. Please do not confuse northern China with the rest. The industries around my home in Jiangsu are mostly high tech, non-polluting. In Nanjing are the heavy industries. Around here in Suzhou it's rather clean.

Still will not eat fish or river pulled fish however.

[gopiscrap]

5. wow that's really bad.

[heaven05]

7. just a matter of time

till there is nothing to stop us being in an e.l.e. because of our poisoning our habitat because of corporate indifference and greed along with just plain human stupidity. I'm glad I'm a 'senior' citizen. I might not see it. But I really feel for the young children's generation between 4-10?

[Tanuki]

9. But Michele Bachman held China's policies up as an example for us all!

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/scott-galupo/2011/11/14/michele-bachmanns-misplaced-china-envy