China air pollution impacting US air quality

Air pollution produced from factories in China has been found to be blowing across the Pacific Ocean and resulting in higher levels of smog in the US. A new study has found that emissions created by the production of products for export to the US and Europe is impacting the air quality on the west coast of the country.

Published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences', the study is the first to look at how Chinese production of good is impacting air pollution in the US. 

As the manufacture of goods in North America has declined in recent years, the east coast of the nation has seen improvements in air quality. However, many western regions of the country are still experiencing air quality due, in part, to the emissions that are travelling across from China. 

Researchers found that the city of Los Angeles suffers from around one extra day each year of high pollution levels that exceed ozone standards set by the federal government because of pollution that originates from China. Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides that are produced by Chinese factories contribute to these increased levels. The report also suggests that around a quarter of sulfate air pollution measured on the west coast can be attributed to Chinese factories.

China has been criticised in recent years for the heavy pollution that has resulted in many of its cities being shrouded in heavy smog for several months of the year. While the country has pledged to reduce the air pollution levels measured in its own cities, the report suggests that such reductions would also be beneficial for other nations.

Researchers from the UK, US and China looked at data from 2006, which suggested that around 20 per cent of air pollution created in China is as a result of manufacturing products for export. The report states that the continued high level of emissions being produced in China are a large factor in the poor level of global air quality between 2006 and 2009. Although emissions have reduced in Japan, the US and the UK; China has remained a high emitter, pushing up global air pollution.