Polluted air cuts the length of a lifetime in China, new study shows

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1 Polluted air cuts the length of a lifetime in China, new study shows By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 732 Tourists wearing masks visit the Tiananmen Square on a hazy day in Beijing Jan. 13, Air pollution readings in China's notoriously polluted capital were at dangerously high levels, with hazy skies blocking visibility and authorities urging people to stay indoors. Photo: Liao Pan/Color China Photo/AP Images BEIJING - Dirty air decreases human lifetimes, says a new study. Its research shows that lives are 5.5 years shorter in northern China than in the south. Experts believe this is because of air pollution - the dirt and dust floating in the atmosphere. The study was published on Monday. It examined the air in 90 Chinese cities between 1981 and This information was then compared with death rates in 145 places across the country from 1991 to Other studies have established strong links between air pollution and ill health. And many experts have tried to work out how poor air quality affects people in China. Some say this new research proves that pollution lowers life expectancy, and may shock both politicians and the public. China used to be a poor country that mostly depended on farming. In the past few decades, it quickly changed to a

2 richer, booming land full of factories and big cities. Some people argue China is sacrificing the health of its citizens to produce more goods and make more money. Both Sides Of Huai River Studied In China, the researchers found an ideal place to look at the effects of air pollution. The Huai River flows through the center of the country. The Chinese government once gave people north of the river free coal to burn in winter. This created large amounts of smoke and pollution. But those who lived south of the river received no fuel at all. These people may have been colder, but they lived in a place with much better air. The experts compared the people south of the river to those who lived north of the river to study the effects of pollution on health. Those south of the river lived longer lives. Air pollution is measured by TSPs. These are tiny specks of dust, smoke or dirt carried in the air. They can cause people to develop diseases. Cleaner Air Needed Michael Greenstone is one of the authors of the new study. He found that there were many more TSPs north of the river than south of it. People also died around 5.5 years earlier in the north. Experts believe this is because citizens in the north were exposed to more pollution. Many of the deaths in the north were caused by heart and lung problems. These are often caused by TSPs and air pollution. The researchers say that 500 million people altogether lost 2.5 billion years from their lives. This was just during the 1990s. Yuyu Chen of Peking University also wrote the study. He said that air pollution in China is damaging human health much more than experts believed. Chen wants people to take air pollution seriously and write new laws to make the air cleaner. Trading Health For Money Dirty air is a serious concern in China. The capital city Beijing had some of its worst air pollution ever in January. This was caused by the weather and smoke from burning coal. This pollution meant outdoor activities had to be cancelled as they were too dangerous. Airplane flights were stopped and highways were closed. Countless people were sent to hospitals. Regions up to 1,100 miles away from Beijing were affected. And more terrible air hit Beijing in June.

3 Chinese people have protested about air pollution in recent years. Lots of them are concerned about what this bad air means for their health. China s government has taken several emergency measures against the problem. It ordered factories and construction sites to close. It demanded that heavy industries such as steel manufacturing use the most modern machinery. This cuts down on the amount of pollution created. The government has asked industries to reduce the amount of pollution they release into the air. Some companies have to cut down their emissions by 30 percent by the end of Slow Improvement Seen But some people think that the companies are more interested in money than stopping pollution. These critics believe that the dirty air will improve very, very slowly. Many Chinese cities have average TSP readings of 200 to 300 micrograms. In the U.S., the average is 20 to 30 micrograms. Chen and his research team say that pollution is more dangerous when people spend more time in areas with high TSP readings. The researcher believes that every extra 100 micrograms of TSPs in the air cuts life expectancy by three years.

4 Quiz 1 What information can someone learn from reading this article? Ideal places to look for air pollution. The causes and effects of air pollution. The amount of pollution factories create. The economic hardships of decreasing pollution. 2 Select the paragraph from the article that provides the MOST evidence of the positive effect factories and big cities had on China. 3 What is one negative effect from long-term exposure to TSP and air pollution? cancer diabetes heart disease HIV 4 According to the article, people who live South and North of the Huai River are different in all the following EXCEPT People South of the River lived longer than people North of the river. People of the North received free coal and people of the South did People of the South received free coal and people of the North did People of the South lived in a place with better air than people of the North.

5 Answer Key 1 What information can someone learn from reading this article? Ideal places to look for air pollution. The causes and effects of air pollution. The amount of pollution factories create. The economic hardships of decreasing pollution. 2 Select the paragraph from the article that provides the MOST evidence of the positive effect factories and big cities had on China. Paragraph 3: Some say this new research proves that pollution lowers life expectancy, and may shock both politicians and the public. China used to be a poor country that mostly depended on farming. In the past few decades, it quickly changed to a richer, booming land full of factories and big cities. Some people argue China is sacrificing the health of its citizens to produce more goods and make more money. 3 What is one negative effect from long-term exposure to TSP and air pollution? cancer diabetes heart disease HIV 4 According to the article, people who live South and North of the Huai River are different in all the following EXCEPT People South of the River lived longer than people North of the river. People of the North received free coal and people of the South did People of the South received free coal and people of the North did People of the South lived in a place with better air than people of the North.