Linfen govt has duty of care to warn residents about SO2 levels

THERE WAS SEVERE SMOG throughout northern China last week. While the air pollution in Beijing received a lot of media attention, the city of Linfen in North China's Shanxi province, where the smog was even worse, received little attention until a micro blog on the dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide in the air pollution caught people's attention. Beijing News comments:

According to World Health Organization standards, people should avoid places where the density of sulfur dioxide is higher than 500 micrograms per cubic meter.

A survey by the Beijing municipal environmental protection bureau shows that the respiratory function of those staying even a short time in a place where the density of sulfur dioxide is about 280 mg per cubic meter is severely compromised.