Pollution from China Is an International Problem

Chosun Ilbo ^ | 11/12/2013 | Chosun Ilbo

[TexGrill]

Smog from China brought a concentration of ultrafine particles in the Yeongdeungpo area of southwestern Seoul on Saturday that was 1.4 times the normal level, prompting health authorities to advise the weak and elderly to stay indoors. The concentration of ultrafine particles also surpassed normal levels in the Gangseo, Yangcheon, Guro and Mapo districts of the capital as well as in Incheon. On Oct. 29, the concentration of ultrafine particles in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province north of Seoul was 2.5 times the normal level.

The smog blows across the West Sea. It is now common in Beijing for the concentration of ultrafine particles to reach 10 times the safe level set by the World Health Organization. On Saturday, heavy smog there prompted authorities to close off 10 highways.

Such heavy smog is an ominous sign given that winter, when heating demand surges, has not even arrived. More than 40 percent of the pollutants in the air in Seoul are believed to have blown over from China.

Ultrafine particles are not filtered by the nasal cavity or bronchial tubes and go straight into the lungs, where they can be fatal for people with respiratory illnesses.

The smog is bad enough, but China also operates 15 nuclear power plants and has another 70 in the works. A nuclear disaster in China would drop the radioactive fallout right over Korea on the westerly wind. Maritime pollution in China’s Bohai Sea, which is surrounded by big cities with many factories, also poses a serious problem for Korea as it is adjacent to the West Sea.

[TexGrill]

Global business tip

[who_would_fardels_bear]

We need a church steeple in California to warn us:

One if by air from smog-choked China.
Two if by sea from irradiated Japan.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Too late now. They gat a billion people to feed.