Nov 15, 2016 07:01 PM

Beijing's Attempts to Kick Coal Addiction Helps Clean Up Air

A boy wearing a smog mask waves a Chinese flag at Tiananmen Square on Nov. 10, a day when Beijing was hit by a heavy bout of smog. Photo: IC

(Beijing) — The level of arsenic, lead and cadmium — three cancer-causing chemicals — in Beijing's air has dropped significantly after the city enforced tougher curbs on coal burning four years ago, a study found.

The concentration of arsenic in inhalable particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, commonly known as PM 2.5 particulates, had dropped 86% by early 2016 from the 2012 winter season, research by Chinese academics and environmental advocacy group Greenpeace, released on Monday, said.