Chinese air pollution arrives in Japan

The Chinese air pollution begins to arrive for a few days in western Japan, said Japanese authorities pushed to disseminate safety.

The maximum rate of pollution allowed by the authorities has been exceeded in recent days, said Atsushi Shimizu, an official of the National instiutut Environmental Studies (NIES).

"It is difficult to say with absolute certainty that it all comes from China, but it is certain that much of the current air pollution comes from land to the west of Japan," he said.

The greatest concern is the concentration of very fine particles that reached up to 50 micrograms per cubic meter these days, well above the maximum allowable standard of 35 micrograms.

These particles may originate either deserts of sand Mongolian or Chinese, or exhaust fumes or factories.

"At this time of year, there is no sandstorm, so what are toxic particles we are dealing with," Mr. Shimizu analysis by requiring the greatest care to people with respiratory problems.

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment has indicated that its website had been attacked in recent days, people wanting to both learn and know how to protect themselves.

"Access to the page about the air pollution is virtually impossible for a few days as there are applications and the phone does not stop ringing on the phone with people who are very worried about their health," he told an official Ministry.

Peaks of high air pollution in Beijing in recent days have caused a surge in hospital patients in respiratory distress.

Since mid-January, Beijing and other cities in northern China have been affected by the phenomenon. In the capital, the number of cases of people with lung problems or difficulty breathing grew 20%, according to a survey of newspaper Peking morning.

Toshihiko Takemura, a professor at the University of Kyushu (southwest), which has its own website (Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species, SPRINTARS) provides for his arrival pollution "very important" in Kyushu region Monday and Tuesday.