Beijing (CNS) –The second round of collecting suggestions from the public on Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS) started on November 16, an unnamed official at China's Ministry of Environmental Protection confirmed. The key adjustments in the revised AAQS are to extend measurement and reporting to cover Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and 8-hour Ozone density in the index of air quality. Meanwhile, the standard threshold of Particulate Matter 10 (PM10) and oxynitride has also been tightened up.
PM2.5 means the fine particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which could signal suspended hazardous substances and are often the main precipitating factor in hazy weather conditions.
The Ambient Air Quality Standard (AAQS) currently in use is no longer suited to the measurement of air quality, so China has started to draft new environmental quality standards that include PM2.5, said the official. The Environmental Protection Ministry will adjust its budget to ensure the full operation of PM2.5 measurement on a national scale by 2016, he added.
