U.S. Embassy air quality data undercut China's own assessments

[ellisonz]

U.S. Embassy air quality data undercut China's own assessments
One day this month, the reading was so high compared with U.S. standards it was listed as 'beyond index.' But China's own assessment that day was that Beijing's air was merely 'slightly polluted.'



Poor air condition prevails as midafternoon traffic this month clogs the Third Ring Road in Beijing. Air quality data from the U.S. Embassy in the Chinese capital are more discouraging than those provided by city authorities. (Adrian Bradshaw, EPA / October 11, 2011)

By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times

October 29, 2011, 5:48 p.m.
Reporting from Beijing—
Perched atop the U.S. Embassy in Beijing is a device about the size of a microwave oven that spits out hourly rebukes to the Chinese government.

It is a machine that monitors fine particulate matter, one of the most dangerous components of air pollution, and instantly posts the results to Twitter and a dedicated iPhone application, where it is frequently picked up by Chinese bloggers.

One day this month, the reading was so high compared with the standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it was listed as "beyond index." In other words, it had soared right off the chart.

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Not even the most fervent propagandist would call the city's air clean, but the Chinese government made great efforts to improve air quality for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. Beijing authorities moved huge steelworks out of the capital, switched city dwellers from coal to natural gas heating, raised emissions standards for trucks, and created new subway and bus lines. The cost of the cleanup was estimated at $10 billion, not including the investment in mass transit.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-air-quality-20111030,0,4899208.story

[ellisonz]

1. Any DUers living in China? How's the air?