China: Experts blame perfume, hair-gel for fueling smog in Beijing
What's the story
Chinese experts have blamed the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in hairspray, perfume and air refreshers for the recurring air pollution in China as the dreaded smog returned to haunt the capital city of Beijing today.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Beijing climbed to 213, which is categorized by the World Health Organization, (WHO) as "very unhealthy".
Information
Every year, Beijing experiences the problem of air pollution
Beijing, the city of over 21mn people, every year experiences the problem of air-pollution, which in recent years has dropped to moderate levels following series of measures initiated by the government since 2015 restricting the use of coal and shifting polluting industries out of range.
Measures
Govt asks citizens to buy masks and air purifiers
China has been fighting a tough war against smog for years. It has cut life expectancy in some Chinese regions and the government has asked its citizens to buy masks and air purifiers to protect themselves during peak pollution days.
Beijing has a four-tier alert system for pollution, with red being the highest, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.
Details
During high alerts, heavy polluting vehicles banned from roads
The orange alert means the AQI is forecast to exceed 200 for three consecutive days. During high alerts, heavy polluting vehicles and trucks carrying construction waste are banned from roads and some manufacturing firms cut production.
The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau reported last week that from January to September, the average concentration of PM 2.5 in Beijing dropped by 16.7% compared to 2017.
VOCs
Experts blame group of carbon-based chemicals called VOCs
While several studies have been conducted on the reasons for heavy pollution in Beijing and North China attributing to heavy industrialization and emissions of automobiles, experts now blame the volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
The VOCs are a group of carbon-based chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature. Many common household materials and products, such as paints and cleaning products, give off the VOCs.
VOC details
VOCs include perfume, hair gel, insecticide, cleaning agents
The VOC compounds comprise 12% of PM2.5 in Beijing, and call for regulating these "less significant" sources, the state-run Global Times reported.
The VOCs are concentrated in aerosols like perfume, hair gel, insecticide and cleaning agents, as well as kitchen and gas stations, Wang Gengchen, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Atmospheric Physics Institute, told the daily.
Information
VOCs generate particle pollutants through series of physical, chemical reactions
VOCs don't directly produce PM2.5, but generate particle pollutants through a series of physical and chemical reactions, Wang said. A Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau report released in May said that life emissions account for 12% of Beijing's total emissions, which equals industrial emission.
Suggestions
Policies should be made to deal with indirect pollution: Wang
Policies should be made to deal with indirect pollution sources since strict measures have already been taken on vehicles and coal burning which contribute to almost half of the total PM2.5 in Beijing, Wang said.
These "less significant" sources (VOCs) should not be ignored, Peking University Professor Tang Xiaoyan told the Science and Technology Daily on Saturday.