(Xinhua-Yonhap)
"베이징 폐암증가율과 연관"…'스모그이민' 현상 지속베이징 등 중국의 광범위한 지역에서 올들 어 최악의 스모그가 발생한 가운데 스모그의 잠재적 위험성이 사스(SARS·중증급성 호흡기증후군)보다 훨씬 클 수 있다는 우려가 나왔다.
27일 중국 관영영자지 차이나데일리에 따르면 중국 '사스 퇴치의 영웅'으로 불 리는 중난산(鐘南山) 광저우 호흡기질병연구소 소장은 스모그에 대한 적절한 조치가 없다면 스모그가 인체에 미칠 잠재적 위험성은 사스보다 훨씬 클 수 있다고 말했다.
중 소장은 지난 2002∼2003년 중국에서 발생한 사스로 5천여 명이 감염되고 그 중 340여 명이 사망했을 때 사스가 확산되는 것을 막는데 중요한 역할을 한 의료분 야 권위자다.
베이징의 '암예방통제사무국' 왕닝 부국장은 "베이징에서 폐선암(기관지 벽 등 에서 발병하는 것으로 추정되는 악성종양) 발병 비율이 갈수록 증가하고 있다"고 말 했다. 폐암발병률 증가가 스모그와 관련이 있는 것이다.
차이나데일리는 다만 의료 전문가들은 폐선암이 스모그 노출보다는 직간접 흡연 에 의해 발병할 가능성이 더욱 높다고 본다고 덧붙였다.
이런 가운데 중국 내에서는 공기오염을 피해 이민을 떠나는 이른바 '스모그 이 민'도 늘고 있는 것으로 알려졌다.
인민일보 자매지 환구시보(環球時報) 영문판인 글로벌타임스는 이날 1면에 게재 한 '스모그가 이민을 부추긴다'는 기사에서 스모그가 단기간에 호전될 가능성이 없 는 상황에서 '스모그 이민' 현상은 지속될 것이라는 전문가 분석을 소개했다.
또 '노동이민', '기술이민', '투자이민' 등에 이어 '스모그 이민'은 '제4의 이 민열풍'이라는 말까지 나온다고 덧붙였다.
한 이민 관련 컨설턴트는 올들어 최악의 스모그 현상이 지속된 최근 일주일 사 이 이민 상담자가 3배가량 증가했다고 말했다.
양푸창 자원자원보호위원회 기후에너지 선임보좌관은 중국의 대기오염개선 조치 가 계획대로 진행된다고 해도 베이징의 PM 2.5(지름 2.5㎛ 이하의 초미세 먼지) 농 도가 세계보건기구(WHO) 기준치(25㎍/㎥) 수준으로 떨어지려면 2025년∼2030년은 되어야 할 것이라고 전망했다. (연합)
Expert warns air pollution could be greater dangerous than SARS epidemic
A type of lung cancer reported to be increasing in Beijing has been linked to worsening air quality, with an expert warning that the potential health impact could be much greater than the SARS epidemic in 2003.
"The proportion of lung adenocarcinoma cases is increasing," said Wang Ning, deputy director of the Beijing Office for Cancer Prevention and Control, adding that there has been a drop in the proportion of squamous cell lung cancer cases in the capital.
Adenocarcinoma of the lung is a common histological form of lung cancer that contains certain distinct malignant tissue, while the other type is a form of non-small-cell lung cancer.
Medical experts believe that smoking is more likely to cause squamous cell lung cancer, while exposure to air pollution, such as exhaust gases and secondhand smoking, is more likely to cause adenocarcinoma of the lung, Wang said.
Zhong Nanshan, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, said that without timely intervention, pollution could have a potential health impact much greater than that of the SARS epidemic.
Zhong also said that severe pollution could result in low birth weight and premature births.
He said there has been an increasing number of studies on the relationship between air quality and health, and he referred to one linking exposure to air pollution and traffic fumes to low birth weight.
This study found that for every 10-microgram increase in PM2.5 per cubic meter, the incidences of premature birth increased by 3 to 5 percent, while average birth weights were lowered by 8.9 grams.
PM2.5 particles are air pollutants with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, small enough to invade the smallest airways.
Some public health experts have forecast that in five to seven years, China will see a substantial increase in diseases including lung cancer and cardiovascular conditions, Zhong said.
Wang’s findings on cancer resulted from a study she led that was published in the Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine in March 2011. Wang and her co-workers examined cases of lung cancer diagnosed at Beijing hospitals from 1998 to 2007.
"Of the city’s lung cancer cases that were histologically diagnosed, the proportion of squamous cell lung cancer decreased yearly from 30.41 percent in 1998 to 24.16 percent. Meanwhile, the proportion of lung adenocarcinoma increased from 42.83 percent to 46.80 percent," the study found.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, under the World Health Organization, has also linked lung cancer to air pollution.
In October 2013, the IARC said that outdoor air pollution was a leading environmental cause of cancer.
"After thoroughly reviewing the latest available scientific literature, the world’s leading experts, convened by the IARC, said there is sufficient evidence that exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer," the agency said.
Beijing hospitals have reported a rise in patients seeking treatment for respiratory problems since smog descended on the capital seven days ago.
Zhao Hongmei, a respiratory medicine doctor at Beijing Bo’ai Hospital, said her department has been overwhelmed by patients.
"Usually, a doctor in my department sees 40 to 50 patients every morning. Now, the number has risen to 70," she said. "We have been working at full capacity since Spring Festival."
She said the number of patients in their 30s and 40s has increased markedly since the smog arrived.
"Most showed symptoms such as coughing and discomfort in the throat, but X-rays showed their lungs were not infected.’’
Zhou Jipu, a doctor in the respiratory department at Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said he has seen an increase in elderly patients with underlying diseases in his department since Spring Festival, and smog has worsened their conditions. (China Daily, ANN member)
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