Expert denies PM2.5 levels in subway 16 times higher than outdoors  

專家否認“地鐵霧霾超地上16倍”

(ECNS) -- An expert at an environment institute has denied that they have said concentration of PM2.5 in subways is 16 times worse than outdoors, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

An online report says data released January 2013 by the Green Beagle Enviornment Institute, an environmental research NGO, showed that the concentration of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) in subways was significantly higher than that at ground level.

However, the research center director explained that, although they did test PM2.5 concentrations below ground, they never concluded that it was 16 times worse than above. One day's measurement cannot lead to a scientific conclusion, researchers added.

In response, journalists from Beijing Youth Daily selected three Beijing subway stations to test for levels of PM2.5. The highest score found was on the line 1 platform at Fuxingmen Station, which reached 120.36μg/m3, while the lowest came to 10.69μg/m3, recorded at the station exit. These measurements demonstrate a subway concentration that is 12 times higher than above ground.