Air purifiers for Beijing schools
Govt promises to install facilities amid public outcry over smog
The Beijing government decided to install air purification facilities in some of the capital’s schools and kindergartens on Friday amid parents’ outcry over authorities’ alleged inaction on hazardous smog that has become a perennial problem for North China.
The Beijing Municipal Education Commission announced on Thursday night that they would launch a pilot program to install air purifiers in the city’s kindergartens, primary schools and middle schools. Moreover, the city government has allocated money to help the schools cover the cost of the installation.
The commission said that the authority has taken a series of measures to protect the health of students, such as canceling classes and making teaching arrangements flexible when a red alert, the most serious level of smog, is issued.
While many parents
applauded the decision, some remained concerned, wondering whether the purification equipment could effectively reduce PM 2.5. Others called for similar action to be taken in other cities.
Not for migrant students
Beijing has extended its orange alert for heavy air pollution again as smog is expected to persist until the weekend. Schools and other education institutions in the city have been ordered to stop outdoor courses and activities.
Since Wednesday, a letter demanding air purification system to be installed in classrooms has went viral, triggering heated discussion.
Stating that the smog has become a “new normal,” the letter said that preventing children from being harmed by smog indoors is an urgent task. As the current round of smog has lasted longer than before, the air purifiers have a very limited effect. Therefore, it called for a unified air filtration system to be installed in classrooms during the upcoming winter holiday.
Although many parents applauded the Beijing education authority for the quick response, some said installation of air purifiers is far from enough, and putting air filtration systems in place is of greater necessity.
“Some kindergartens and schools have already installed air purifiers. However, we still do not know whether it could effectively keep indoor density of PM 2.5 under 50 micrograms per cubic meter. The schools should notify which brand of air purifiers they are buying, how many of them will be installed in classrooms and the daily density of PM 2.5,” a Beijing resident surnamed Wang told the Global Times.
Wang also underscored the importance of the air filtration system, noting that it is needed to guarantee sufficient oxygen, as the carbon dioxide in a closed classroom will rise.
Some kindergartens, primary and middle schools in districts such as Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang and Haidian have already installed such devices, with financial support from the government, enterprises and parents.
An official from an elementary school which installed air purification system in 2016 told the Beijing News that the system was able to keep the density of PM 2.5 under 10 micrograms per cubic meter.
A customer service staff from an air purification system company told the newspaper that the system for “a classroom of 50 students costs around 30,000 yuan ($4,337).” An air purifier usually costs around 2,000 yuan.
However, private schools seemed to be excluded from the government support. Zhu Baoguo, president of Minren School in Fangshan district which houses over 360 migrant primary school children, told Caixin Magazine on Friday that “there is no air purification equipment in classrooms and we also hope the government and society could notice us.”
Local concerns
Thursday’s announcement also caused discontent among people in other cities.
A resident from North China’s Hebei Province asked, “Why schools in Hebei or Tianjin municipality are not installing similar air purification facility? What about the economic integration of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region?” he quipped.
Another resident from the city of Linfen, North China’s Shanxi Province said, “No wonder it is the capital [that can enjoy the treatment]. In a thirdtier city like Linfen where the concentration of sulfur dioxide was up to 1,303 micrograms per cubic meter, far above the standard, nobody cares.”
“Installing air purifiers is a public service and the capital made the choice based on its financial budget. Other cities, if it is affordable, should do the same,” Zhou Zijun, a public health expert with Peking University, told the Global Times.
Zhou added that although the government has the duty to solve the problem, the public should also shoulder their responsibility by saving energy, cutting emissions, containing excessive consumption or reporting air pollution actively.