VZCZCXRO0316
PP RUEHAST RUEHCN RUEHDH RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
RUEHSL RUEHTRO
DE RUEHBJ #0353/01 0410913
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100913Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8058
INFO RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 000353 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM-BRAUNOHLER 
STATE FOR OES, OES/EGC, OES/ENV, EAP/CM and EB 
USDOE FOR INTERNATIONAL 
EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL/MKASMAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV CASC KGHG TRGY ENRG PREL CH
 
SUBJECT: BEIJING'S OLYMPICS AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS TEMPORARY 
 
REF:  A. 2008 Beijing 1516; B. 2008 Beijing 2966; C. Beijing 1945 
 
This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Not for distribution 
outside the United States Government. 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU)  The results of a Cornell University-led study on air 
quality control measures imposed by the Chinese government during 
the 2008 Olympics in Beijing show that local controls in Beijing 
succeeded in only temporarily improving air quality.  Although the 
measures reduced certain pollutants, it also changed the air 
chemistry which allowed other pollutants such as Ozone to form.  The 
weather played an especially significant role, with wind blowing in 
from industrial regions outside of Beijing being responsible for 
most of the pollution on bad air days.  Data from the researchers' 
monitor, located 7km away from the Embassy, also tracked closely 
with that of the US Embassy monitor, validating the accuracy of the 
Embassy's data and suggesting that the Embassy's readings are 
representative of Beijing's overall air quality.  Despite Beijing's 
efforts in preparation for the Olympics, pollution levels in Beijing 
still frequently reach the "hazardous" level, which may be 
exacerbated by the greater use of coal due to the unusually cold 
winter and natural gas shortages.  End Summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) A recent study shed new light on China's efforts to improve 
air quality for the Beijing Olympics.  The study "PM and the Beijing 
Olympics: Controls succeed when helped by the weather," was led by 
Dane Westerdahl, Xing Wan and Max Zhang of Cornell University, in 
collaboration with Ye Wu and Jiming Hao of Tsinghua University and 
Xiaochuan Pan from the Peking University School of Public Health. 
Researchers established a fixed community-monitoring station at the 
Peking University Health Center, located on Beijing's northwest 
fourth ring road.  The team also conducted on-road assessments of 
emissions from trucks and buses and near-roadway monitoring to 
assess the impact of local traffic controls before, during, and 
after the Olympics (summer 2007, 2008, and early winter 2009). In 
addition to looking at the pollutants of concern to Chinese 
authorities (PM10, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide), the 
monitoring equipment used in the study also measured PM2.5 and black 
carbon concentrations. 
 
¶3. (U) In formalizing its selection as the host of the 2008 
Olympics, China promised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 
that it would meet international health guidelines for PM10, carbon 
monoxide (CO) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). To honor this commitment, 
the Beijing authorities imposed extensive pollution controls in 
Beijing and the surrounding region (Refs. A, B).  Driving 
restrictions received the most attention.  According to HE Kebin, a 
professor at Tsinghua University's Department of Environmental 
Science and Engineering Department, vehicle use causes 50 percent of 
the particulate pollution in Beijing.  Before the Olympics, only 
trucks over three tons were prohibited from entering the central 
city, and other trucks were only permitted in the city from midnight 
until 6am.  More stringent traffic control measures were gradually 
imposed beginning in July 2008 and continued through September 
2008(Refs. A, B). 
 
Traffic Controls and Black Carbon 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Research results clearly showed the positive impact of the 
truck ban.  When large trucks could enter the city after midnight, 
black carbon measurements spiked, with maximum concentrations 
measuring up to 30ug/m3 in both 2007 and 2008. Once the restrictions 
banning high-polluting and non-local trucks from entering the city 
took effect, the after-midnight spike in black carbon disappeared 
and the concentrations averaged 3.65ug/m3. These measurements 
confirmed that diesel trucks are a main contributor to black carbon 
levels in Beijing. 
 
Surprising Effects on Air Chemistry 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  The researchers found that while the various pollution 
 
BEIJING 00000353  002 OF 003 
 
 
control measures did reduce PM10 levels in Beijing, it also had the 
unintended consequence of changing the chemistry of the air which 
may have resulted in increased ozone formation. [NOTE: The Embassy 
has installed an Ozone monitor and will start to release readings in 
February 2010. END NOTE]  The researchers felt that Beijing was too 
focused on meeting the IOC's rules on PM10 levels, and instead 
should have focused on reducing PM2.5 levels to improve both health 
and visibility. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  While vehicle emission controls appeared to be effective 
in reducing black carbon levels, researchers also found a 
correlation between PM2.5, black carbon and poor visibility.  On 
days with high levels of PM2.5 (polluted days), the levels of black 
carbon tracked directly with PM2.5 and visibility was poor. 
However, on days with low PM2.5 levels (clean days), there was not 
as strong a correlation to lower levels of black carbon, and 
visibility was good.  The researchers noted that as black carbon is 
also a carcinogen and a significant contributor to global warming, 
reducing this pollutant would have multiple beneficial environmental 
effects. 
 
Successful Control Dependent on Weather 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Despite the various traffic and industry controls (Refs. A, 
B), air pollution remained a problem on several days during the 
Olympics. Pollutant levels of PM2.5 during the Olympics varied 
widely from 9.8 ("Good" using EPA standards) to over 210ug/m3 ("Very 
Unhealthy"). Researchers noted that on days of poor air quality, the 
wind blew in from the Tianjin industrial area southeast of Beijing, 
and on clean air days the wind direction was from the north or west 
- blowing away from Tianjin.  Therefore, the researchers concluded, 
pollution controls enacted only in Beijing were doomed to limited 
success because of the need to have a more regional approach (Ref. 
B). 
 
Study validates US Embassy monitor 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU)  The China Daily has reported several times on the 
Embassy's PM2.5 monitor, but is careful to use cautionary statements 
pointing out that the monitor is in a "high traffic area in the 
central business district" or located in "Beijing's car-populated 
business area," suggesting that the monitor data is not 
representative of Beijing's overall air quality.  This study, 
however, refutes this assertion.  From July 21, 2008, to August 20 
2008, the readings from the researchers' PM2.5 monitor - located 7km 
away from the Embassy - were nearly identical to those from the US 
Embassy monitor.  This suggests that the readings from the US 
Embassy monitor are actually representative of Beijing's air quality 
as a whole. 
 
Air Quality Still Bad 
--------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU)  Nearly a year-and-a-half following the Olympics, Beijing's 
air quality has not significantly improved.  With construction 
continuing, trucks allowed into the city after midnight and the only 
private vehicle control being a driving restriction on only one day 
during the work week, the air is still consistently unhealthy.  For 
example, from November 9 through December 10 of 2009, the Air 
Quality Index, as measured by the Embassy's PM2.5 monitor, 
registered 18 days of "Hazardous" air, which, according to the EPA, 
is a level normally seen during forest fires. 
 
¶10. (SBU)  In addition, the early and unusually cold winter is 
exacerbating Beijing's pollution problems.  In order to make up for 
the energy shortfall as a result of a natural gas shortage, coal use 
for heating and in industrial areas has increased.  As the study 
suggests, the pollutants from this additional coal burning explains 
in part why Beijing's air quality in November and December was 
particularly poor. 
 
Conclusion 
---------- 
 
¶11. (SBU)  During the Olympics, local pollution control measures 
were genuinely effective in reducing PM and CO levels, but only when 
the weather was not blowing pollution in from the industrial regions 
Southeast of Beijing.  Clearly, any effective and sustainable effort 
 
BEIJING 00000353  003 OF 003 
 
 
at reducing Beijing's pollution will require a regional response. 
The work of these researchers suggests that the technology to 
control black carbon emissions is currently available and a strong 
argument could be made that the dissemination and use of this 
technology would make a significant contribution to China's overall 
strategy for controlling pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions, as 
well as improve visibility in China's most polluted cities. 
 
 
HUNTSMAN