Air pollution reduces the life expectancy of northern Chinese

China supplied its northern citizens with free coal for heating and cooking. That free-coal policy is now having an adverse effect: their life expectancy is being shortened.

The free-coal policy was in effect north of the Huai River between 1950 and 1980, reports the BBC and the Financial Times (July 9, 2013). Five hundred million people live in the region. A 2013 study conducted by Chinese, American, and Israeli researchers on air pollution and life expectancy reveals that the northern residents have reduced their life expectancy by 5.5 years with higher rates of heart and lung disease than the rest of China’s population. The air pollution from burning coal in the area north of the Huai River was 55% higher than the air quality in the south.

Researchers studied the pollution levels and deaths in 90 cities in the north of China and in the south between 1981 and 2000. The researchers focused on the total suspended particles (TSP) in the air, such as soot and smoke. They also analysed mortality statistics from 1991 to 2000 and found evidence of shorter life expectancy in the areas that were previous under the free-coal policy. The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicated that there was an increase in the number of incidences of cardio-respiratory deaths.

Therefore while the provision of coal was aimed at keeping people warm and reducing the number of winter related deaths from the cold weather and influenza, it was counterproductive. The free-coal policy has had disasterous consequences for the health of citizens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-23236532

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