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China is 'polluting' Mt. Fuji, claims
Japan study
October 06, 2013 - Updated 751 PKT
From Web Edition
56 7 0 0
TOKYO: A Japanese study is
claiming that toxic air pollution
from China is to blame for high
mercury levels atop the country's
beloved Mount Fuji.
The research will likely do little to
help simmering hostilities between
the Asian giants, a relationship
marred by historical animosities and
territorial disputes.
"Whenever readings were high,
winds were blowing from the
continent (China)," Osamu
Nagafuchi, the lead scientist on the
study, told AFP on Thursday.
Fuji was chosen "because it's a place
unaffected by urban pollution", said
Nagafuchi, an environmental science
professor at the University of Shiga
Prefecture.
Pollution levels on Mt. Fuji have
been monitored annually since 2007,
he said, adding the decision to carry
out the study on the 3,776-metre
(12,389-feet) peak had nothing to do
with it being designated a UNESCO
World Heritage site earlier this year.
The UNESCO designation led to a
surge in visitors to the iconic peak --
which figures heavily in Japanese art
and literature -- during this
summer's climbing season.
Mercury levels around the top of
peak were up to double levels found
in other places free of heavy
pollution, according to the survey,
conducted in August with non-profit
group Valid Utilization of Mt. Fuji
Weather Station.
The levels were as high as 2.8
nanogrammes of mercury in one
cubic metre of air.
That is above levels around 1.0 to
1.5 nanogrammes normally detected
in clean places, but still below the
40 nanogramme government
threshold for posing risks to human
health. A nanogramme is one
billionth of a gramme.
The higher-than-expected readings
are likely due to Chinese factories
burning coal, which releases mercury
and other toxic elements -- such as
arsenic -- which were also elevated,
Nagafuchi said.
The study comes as fast-
industrialising China wrestles with a
severe urban air pollution problem
linked to hundreds of thousands of
premature deaths.
Last month, China vowed to reduce
levels of atmospheric pollutants in
Beijing and other major cities by as
much as 25 percent to try to improve
their dire air quality.
source news.com.pk
Japan study
October 06, 2013 - Updated 751 PKT
From Web Edition
56 7 0 0
TOKYO: A Japanese study is
claiming that toxic air pollution
from China is to blame for high
mercury levels atop the country's
beloved Mount Fuji.
The research will likely do little to
help simmering hostilities between
the Asian giants, a relationship
marred by historical animosities and
territorial disputes.
"Whenever readings were high,
winds were blowing from the
continent (China)," Osamu
Nagafuchi, the lead scientist on the
study, told AFP on Thursday.
Fuji was chosen "because it's a place
unaffected by urban pollution", said
Nagafuchi, an environmental science
professor at the University of Shiga
Prefecture.
Pollution levels on Mt. Fuji have
been monitored annually since 2007,
he said, adding the decision to carry
out the study on the 3,776-metre
(12,389-feet) peak had nothing to do
with it being designated a UNESCO
World Heritage site earlier this year.
The UNESCO designation led to a
surge in visitors to the iconic peak --
which figures heavily in Japanese art
and literature -- during this
summer's climbing season.
Mercury levels around the top of
peak were up to double levels found
in other places free of heavy
pollution, according to the survey,
conducted in August with non-profit
group Valid Utilization of Mt. Fuji
Weather Station.
The levels were as high as 2.8
nanogrammes of mercury in one
cubic metre of air.
That is above levels around 1.0 to
1.5 nanogrammes normally detected
in clean places, but still below the
40 nanogramme government
threshold for posing risks to human
health. A nanogramme is one
billionth of a gramme.
The higher-than-expected readings
are likely due to Chinese factories
burning coal, which releases mercury
and other toxic elements -- such as
arsenic -- which were also elevated,
Nagafuchi said.
The study comes as fast-
industrialising China wrestles with a
severe urban air pollution problem
linked to hundreds of thousands of
premature deaths.
Last month, China vowed to reduce
levels of atmospheric pollutants in
Beijing and other major cities by as
much as 25 percent to try to improve
their dire air quality.
source news.com.pk