Heavy Breathing Monitoring Individual PM2.5 Exposure

by Ni Junchen

In Beijing， 18 days of June 2013 were sated in smoke and haze， breaking a record for the same period that stood since the 1960s. Since 2011， the city has remained consistently “under the weather，” plagued by dense smog. The term “PM2.5，” referring to fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter， has become part of the vernacular， inducing cringes with every citizen. Also known as fine particulate matter， PM2.5 is the primary cause of dust-haze.

At the end of 2012 and early 2013， Greenpeace conducted individual PM2.5 exposure level monitoring in Beijing by recruiting volunteers to be personally tested. They carried monitors which showed that the density of heavy metals and arsenic was higher than normal standards of hazardous substances absorbed into PM2.5. Polluted air poses a great threat to public health， both physically and psychologically.

An Arduous Climb

Zhong Yu is among Chinas earliest avid mountaineers. In the 1990s， she reached the peak of snow-capped Haba Mountain， 5，396 meters above sea level， in Yunnan Province. Last year， she fell in love with jogging because “only one pair of shoes will do during my spare time.”

However， her routine was upended each time the pollution got bad， and she opted to exercise in a gym. Concerned about her health， she volunteered to be tested as part of the Greenpeace campaign. On November 25， 2012， she participated in Beijings Marathon wearing a “mechanical lung，” an individual PM2.5 sampling apparatus， which drew 4 liters of air per minute through a filtering membrane that enabled further testing such as weighing and analyzing contents. She finished the long race along with other runners.

At 7：00 a.m.， the monitor at the official site of eastern Qianmen Commercial Street measured a PM2.5 level of 332. This section was a leg of the marathon route， and many runners discussed how to survive such terrible conditions. Sean， for example， is a manager for a foreign company. He has been running marathons for three years， and when it is smoggy， he tries jogging amidst trees or along a stream， or simply takes the day off. William， another participant， had been running marathons for eight years. Knowing that PM2.5 was at 340， he decided to forgo the race and only ran a little – symbolically – wearing a mask.

At 3：13 p.m. Zhong Yu – wearing nothing to protect against air pollution – finally reached the finish line， with a one-kilogram PM2.5 sampling apparatus on her back.

The individual exposure reading on her apparatus read 152.73 microgram/cubic meter – more than double the standard of 75 micrograms per cubic meter for Grade 2 air quality of particulate matter on average.

For many citizens， outdoor exercise had been part of their daily lives. What can they do？

Chen Yueliang from Xiamen， Fujian Province， has been running marathons for ten years. He has run through many places around the world， such as Berlin， Brussels， Hong Kong， Dalian， and Jinmen. Now 50 years old， Chen longs to run across China with clear air while he still can.

Air Quality Control： Catching up with the World

Passionate about Chinese culture and leading a simple life， Camille Chanlair came to China to study in 2008. After graduation， he stayed in Beijing and began working for an international enterprise specializing in wine.

He arrived in a year when air pollution was one of Beijings hottest topics – a crucial issue when hosting the Olympic Games. Camille decided to volunteer for Greenpeace to test the air quality， with which he was not happy. He hopes that the Chinese government will work as hard as they did for the Olympics to improve the air quality today.

The day we interviewed Camille， Beijing， an ancient city with the planets greatest number of World Cultural Heritage sites and embraced by mountains on three sides， was wrapped in a thick haze， as it had been for several days. It seemed that people couldnt recall days of blue skies or seeing hills from afar.

“Most weekends I stayed at home except a few trips out to meet friends，” sighed Camille， gazing out a window. “Usually， nobody wants to go out in such weather.”

What attracted Camille most to Beijing was the harmonious coexistence of an ancient city and a modern international me- tropolis. “The city has endless possibilities，”he asserts. “Nevertheless， Ive been thinking of going home because of the air. In the winter of 2011， I suffered an asthma attack and stayed in bed for a couple of days. I could hardly breathe if I got out of bed.”

Camille was not surprised upon seeing the photo of the filter from his testing machine. He is all too familiar with Bei- jings air after living there for four years. He could do nothing to protect himself in his office. “I cant wear a mask while working！” he smiled wryly. “The best way to get rid of this is to move to another place.”

During the week-long test， Camille stayed indoors most of the time. His average exposure value was 112.85 microgram per cubic meter， which was 1.5 times the national standard and 4.51 times the 24-hour base rate： 25 microgram per cubic meter – a standard set by the World Health Organization （WHO）.

Childhood Without Stars

Ma is five years old. He enjoys swimming， running， and bicycling with his friends. He hates wearing caps and masks but lately his mother demands it in such a heavily-polluted weather.

He is the youngest of the Greenpeace volunteers.

On the first day of testing， he played with his friends at kindergarten as he usually did， and his classmates became curious about the testing machine on his back. “There is a monster in here，” Ma teased， pointing at the machine. “Its testing PM2.5： farts from cars and chimneys which are harmful to our health.”

The kindergarten offers painting classes， wherein teachers like to take the kids outdoors to show them how to draw everything they see. But they can hardly see anything because of the haze in the sky. Many children havent seen stars in quite a long time.

Little Ma received a planetarium projector from his father when he was two. He was deeply impressed by the boundless sky with numerous stars. By the end of the testing， he couldnt help but count the sparkling Christmas trees along the street and share his wishes for the holiday. His voice turned sullen suddenly， “I dont remember ever seeing real stars in the sky， but I know what they look like： round and bright， just like the bulbs on Christmas trees.”

During testing， Little Ma stayed indoors 95 percent of the time. His individual exposure value was 38.23 microgram/cubic meter， almost half of the national standard， and 1.5 times WHOs 24-hour criterion value.