Pollution in China spread to the US - Why?

The US has created jobs for mobile phones and large-screen TVs for Chinese people, but China has brought polluted air from domestic factories to the US.

>>>China 'exports' pollution to the US

That's because heavy air pollution in China's urban areas is flying through the Pacific Ocean. According to a study by a team of scientists at the University of California at Irvine and other scientists, most of these pollution sources come from consumer goods factories sold in the US and Europe.

"When you buy a product at Walmart, it has to be produced somewhere," said study co-author Steven Davis. "The product does not contain polluted air, but the place it created caused pollution".

Blind smoke

Air pollution is a headache that Chinese leaders are facing. Environmental, economic and social tensions are the result of decades of rapid industrialization. A former Chinese health minister recently said that 500,000 people in China die every year because of air pollution.

Most of the polluted air in the US is caused by cars, trucks, refineries and other causes. But strong western winds can blow toxic chemicals flying in the air through the Pacific Ocean.

Meanwhile, research shows that carbon, ozone, and dust are highly concentrated in the spring, creating areas of particularly dangerous pollution, accumulating in valleys and basins in California and other Western countries. . For example, in Los Angeles, the amount of nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide from factories in China has pushed dust concentrations above the ozone limit allowed here for at least a day a year.

Scientists say their research is the first to quantify the level of pollution associated with manufacturing cell phones, TVs and other consumer goods at Chinese factories and these products are exported. Export to USA and countries around the world.

Scientists also note that while the source of air pollution that China exports has reduced the air quality of the western states of the United States, the fact that the United States put its production abroad also helps to increase the quality. air quality in the eastern US states.