14 DAY TRIAL // This past Tuesday, over 500 barbecue grills met their doom in Beijing, China. The grill “cull” was carried out for the sake of public health, local authorities say.
Before anyone starts thinking that officials in Beijing have for some reason decided that the city's residents are to no longer enjoy hamburgers and the like, it must be said that the destruction of the over 500 grills is expected to help improve local air quality.
Several studies have shown that open-air barbecues cause air pollution. Specifically, they flood the air with several harmful chemical compounds, and also release loads of fine particulate matter, i.e. airborne particles that measure less than 2.5 microns in diameter.
As reported, it was earlier this year when the World Health Organization listed air pollution as a cause of cancer.
“After thoroughly reviewing the latest available scientific literature, the world's leading experts convened by the IARC [International Agency for Research on Cancer] Monographs Programme concluded that there is sufficient evidence that exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer. They also noted a positive association with an increased risk of blabbed cancer,” the Organization said at that time.
Furthermore, “Particulate matter, a major component of outdoor air pollution, was evaluated separately and was also classified as carcinogenic to humans.”
Therefore, it comes as good news that China is taking steps to deal with its ongoing airpocalypse.
Eco Business reports that the 500 grills cut into bits and pieces yesterday were collected over the past three months.
Thus, it was back in August when high officials in Beijing launched a new operation whose sole purpose was to determine which of the city's open-air barbecue grills caused the most air pollution and therefore needed to be destroyed.
While it is true that the destruction out these grills will make life somewhat easier for Beijing's residents, the fact remains that there is quite a lot of work left to be done to solve the country's air pollution crisis, and that curbing emissions from transport and industry should probably take priority over making minced meat of barbecues.