Air Pollution: How Bad Is It, Really?

MyHealthBeijing is a new blog by Dr. Richard Saint Cyr, an American family medicine physician living and working in Beijing.

Check out his latest blog on air pollution, well worth reading.

Air Pollution: How Bad Is It, Really?

First, subjectively and objectively, the air is definitely better than it was compared to a year ago. We’ve had a lot of clear days this year! The government stats agree; “blue air days” with a PM10 rating in their safe range under 100 are the best in over 10 years. But let’s talk about how relevant that really is. First, the government uses a “blue air” pollution index using an air particulate size of 10 picometers (PM10). That’s a tiny particle, but one issue is that this PM10 is not what most countries use as a proper indicator of air pollution, using a smaller size of 2.5 picometers. Why? Because this size is more easily inhaled deeper into the lungs and therefore probably causes more damage, so is a more accurate barometer of health risks. Also, the government cutoff of under 100 as a “blue sky day” still would count in many other countries as unhealthy.  There’s a general consensus that, while no number is a safe number, a PM10 over 15 starts to have health effects. Therefore, saying you have a “blue sky day” with a level still in the 90s would be falsely reassuring.

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