Expat warns of Chinese health risks
26/10/09 19:47
An American expatriate returning from China has expressed his belief that living in China could pose long-term health risks.
Writing for US magazine the Atlantic, James Fallows said he was concerned that Beijing's low air quality was causing incoming workers respiratory problems.
He pointed to a World Bank report which revealed 750,000 people die prematurely each year from problems caused by air pollution as evidence China's population has already been severely affected, but asked whether any research has been done into expat health.
An overseas-trained doctor in Beijing told Mr Fallow: "Just using your eyes, you know this can't be good for anybody."
According to the foreign correspondent, his informal research uncovered three key messages, the first being that the impact of poor air quality is much worse than officially reported.
However, he also found that those moving back to healthier countries are likely to recover and that there may be more imminent health risks, such as limited road safety.
Published earlier this month by the United Nations, a report rating nations on their quality of life ranked China in 92nd place out of 182 countries.
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