Effectiveness of Beijing-Area Pollution-Curbing Measures Questioned

(Beijing) — Families in northern China prepare in advance for winter, with affluent urbanites buying smog masks as emissions surge, while poor villagers stock up on dirty coal to heat their homes.

Low-quality coal used in rural homes is the biggest source of tiny cancer-causing particles that hover over the region periodically from November to March, said He Kebin, head of the School of Environment at Tsinghua University. Small boilers collectively cough up more toxins in winter than industrial emitters do, he said.