Expats seek to beat smog with technology_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Expats seek to beat smog with technology

"The main problem with a lot of the products on the market seems to be that they are better at dealing with PM2.5 [particulate matter small enough to penetrate the lungs], but poor when it comes to PM0.3 and gases," he said.

He said his invention can remove all PM2.5 and is also "20 to 25 times better" than other products at eliminating PM0.3, small pollutants that can burrow deeper into the lung tissue. It is equipped with enough active carbon to trap gases easily, as well as other systems to help eliminate excess build-up of carbon dioxide, which humans create naturally by breathing.

These systems can both detoxify other gases that are produced at home when cooking or using air-conditioning units, and provide a healthy supply of oxygen so users do not, for example, wake up with headaches.

He hopes to have a marketable prototype completed this year.

Despite such stopgap measures, real change can only come from the government, the industrial sector and consumers.

The government aims to reduce PM2.5 density in North China by a quarter by 2017 by drawing on an allocated budget of 5 billion yuan, Shanghai Daily reported.

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.