AIR POLLUTION: CANCER IN CHINA

Question 1

how many deaths a year are caused by ambient pollution (air pollution)

Answer 1

4.2 million

Question 2

what six pollutants have the WHO recommended air quality levels for

Answer 2

particulate matter (PM), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO)

Question 3

which two pollutants are the most concerning and why

Answer 3

PM10 and PM2.5 because they penetrate deep into the lungs, and smaller PM2.5 particles can travel into the bloodstream leading to cardiovascular and respiratory impacts

Question 4

what percentage of people live where air quality exceeds the WHO guide limits

Answer 4

91% of people live in places where air quality exceeds WHO guide limits

Question 5

how is particle pollution (PM2.5 and PM10) caused

Answer 5

released by the burning of fossil fuels

Question 6

what is the advised limit that the WHO has set on particle pollution

Answer 6

5 micrograms / m3

Question 7

give a statistic that shows the increase in lung cancer related deaths from 2009 to 2019

Answer 7

37% increase in lung cancer deaths from 2009 to 2019

Question 8

what was ranked the biggest risk factor in china causing death and disability in 2019

Answer 8

tobacco was ranked the biggest risk factor causing death and disability in china in 2019

Question 9

how many newly diagnosed lung cancer cases were there in china in 2015

Answer 9

787,000 newly diagnosed cases in 2015

Question 10

what was the lung cancer incidence rates for men and women in 2015

Answer 10

lung cancer incidence for women was 23.52/100,000

lung cancer incidence for women was 48.87/100,000

Question 11

how many lung cancer deaths were there in china in 2015

Answer 11

631,000

Question 12

what was the incidence rate of mortality from lung cancer for men and women in 2015

Answer 12

incidence rate of deaths for men with lung cancer was 40/100,000
incidence rate of deaths for women with lung cancer was 16.5/100,000

Question 13

what percentage of total cancers for men was lung in 2018

Answer 13

22%

Question 14

what percentage of cancers were lung for women in 2018

Answer 14

approximately 13% of total cancers

Question 15

when does China aim to hit its peak emissions and when does it expect to achieve net-zero emissions

Answer 15

China aims to hit peak emissions by 2030, and achiev net-zero emissions by 2060

Question 16

when did china sign up to the paris agreement and what was the goal of this

Answer 16

1st april 2016, the goal was to keep the rise of global temperatures below 1.5 degrees

Question 17

give four national strategies that china has implemented to mitigate pollution

Answer 17

• china has prohibited the building of new coal-fired power stations
• Cities, such as Shenzhen, entered 2019 as the world’s first city with an all-electric transport system
• the great green wall- a scheme aiming to plant 35 billion trees across several provinces
• china is positioned as the biggest producer of solar panels and solar-generated electricity in the world

Question 18

give three facts that demonstrate the success of pollution mitigation strategies in china

Answer 18

• in 2005, 61% of Chinese homes cooked using coal and wood, that figure has dropped to 32% as of 2017
• average citizen is now expected to live 2.4 years longer due to the the reduction of pollution
• investment from the world bank led to a 560,000 tonne reduction in coal consumption

Question 19

give a fact that demonstrates that extremely high levels of pollution in china have withstood mitigation strategies

Answer 19

only 107 of 338 Chinese cities have reached the PM2.5 level of 35 micrograms/ m3