'Radioactive smog' in Beijing lacks scientific evidence: experts  

媒體調查求證：“華北核霧染說”缺乏科學依據

大面積持續霧霾是由“核霧染”造成的？這個疑問在互聯網上發酵了一個多月。疑問源于一篇博文，作者馬可安自稱是物理博士。按其說法，華北霧霾經久不散，是因為空氣中漂浮的粉塵顆粒是帶電的，而帶電原因，是來自內蒙古自治區大營地區煤礦的放射性鈾。多位煤炭、原子能、大氣等領域的受訪學者均表示，馬可安的推斷缺乏直接證據支撐，一些關鍵問題還存在科學、邏輯錯誤。[查看全文]

(ECNS)-- The China Youth Daily has refuted a blog post claiming that smog in Beijing is connected to nuclear radiation.

Citing several experts, the paper says the theory "lacks scientific evidence."

An article named "Collapse of China's Coal Industry and Radioactive Smog" posted by Mark Anthony last November was reposted by netizens across many social media platforms.

The author said the smog in northeast China is related to nuclear radiation. A large quantity of uranium dust from Inner Mongolia's coal mines float in the air, which has resulted in the lingering smog, he added.

However, in an email to China Youth Daily, he said it was all "theoretical inference." He said "the idea suddenly came to him" as he was reading a report about a world class uranium deposit found in 2012.

He added that he had no direct data to prove his theory.

Anthony claims to have a doctorate in physics and to have entered the University of San Diego in 1986, but the Graduate Records Office at the university responded in an email that there was no enrollment record of a student with that name.

Anthony's theory has also been refuted by many experts. Zhang Qinghong, deputy professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Peking University, said Beijing was plagued with smog around 2005.

Yao Qiang, head of the Department of Thermal Engineering at Tsinghua University, said the amount of uranium in coal is too small to have an impact.

As for the Daying area in Inner Mongolia, where coal and uranium are abundant, Wang Xiaoming, a professor of Geosciences at China University, said it is forbidden to explore a coal mine near a uranium deposit.

In the worst case, if coal with uranium is burnt, there is a low possibility that uranium will enter the air, said Guo Qiuju, from the Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics Department at Peking University.

That was backed up by Huang Dawei, deputy professor at the Mineral Survey and Investigation Department of Northeast University.

Guo Qiuju has monitored the amount of radon, the only gas product of uranium, in Beijing's air since 2003, and said he found no relation between radon and smog.

The amount of nuclear radiation in Beijing's air since August 2012 is at the normal level, according to the official website of the National Nuclear Safety Administration.