MCLC: air data

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: air data 
***********************************************************

Source: NYT (6/5/12):
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/world/asia/china-asks-embassies-to-stop-m
easuring-air-pollution.html

China Asks Other Nations Not to Release Its Air Data
By KEITH BRADSHER

HONG KONG — After years of choking smog that stings the eyes and burns the
lungs, regularly documented by an air sensor at the American Embassy in
Beijing that posts the results hourly on Twitter, the Chinese government
took a strong position on the issue on Tuesday.

Wu Xiaoqing, the vice minister for environmental protection, demanded that
foreign governments stop releasing data on China’s air.

In a criticism clearly aimed at the United States, Mr. Wu said at a news
conference that the public release of air-quality data by foreign
governments’ consulates “not only doesn’t abide by the spirits of the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations, but also violates relevant provisions of environmental
protection.”
He complained that data from just a few locations were unrepresentative of
broader air quality in China. He asserted that it was a mistake for a few
consulates in China to be assigning labels like “hazardous” to China’s air
based on standards that were drafted in industrialized countries and
tightened over many years.

Such standards may not be appropriate for conditions in developing
countries like China, Mr. Wu said, adding that “we hope the few consulates
in China would respect our country’s relevant laws and regulations, and
stop publishing this unrepresentative air-quality information.”

In case anyone missed the point, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Weimin,
said at a briefing later in the day, “Of course, if the foreign embassies
want to collect air-quality information for their own staff or diplomats,
I think that is their own matter, but we believe that this type of
information should not be released to the public.”

The American Embassy began tracking and releasing air-quality data in
2008, followed by its Guangzhou consulate last year and the Shanghai
consulate last month.

Officials in China and Hong Kong have grudgingly responded by moving to
release their own data on extremely fine particles measuring 2.5
micrometers or less in diameter, a size that penetrates particularly deep
into lungs and has been linked to cancer and other respiratory problems.
Public awareness in China of the health hazards associated with extremely
fine particles has soared with the release of the American data, and
particularly smoggy days now set off a surge in mentions of “PM2.5” on
Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging service similar to Twitter.

The criticism of the United States by Chinese officials comes after
officials in Shanghai have recently taken exception to the public
availability of data from the new monitor there. Richard L. Buangan, the
American Embassy spokesman, wrote in an e-mail that the monitor “is a
resource for the health of the consulate community, but is also available
through our Twitter feed for American citizens who may find the data
useful.”

He added, “We caution, however, that citywide analysis of air quality
cannot be done using readings from a single machine.”
Mr. Buangan declined to comment on how the Vienna conventions might or
might not have any legal bearing on the air monitors or the release of the
data.