Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Shanghai Air & Water (but were afraid to ask)

Louie Cheng from PureLivingChina.com answers the top 10 questions he hears most from Shanghai residents:

1. How is the situation here in China different when it comes to getting clean air and water?

2. Why should I bother getting my air and water tested if I can’t control pollution?

3. What are the biggest problems when it comes to Shanghai air?

4. What are the biggest problems when it comes to Shanghai water?

5. Is the water here safe to drink? Safe to shower with? Safe to brush my teeth with?

6. Great, so I use bottled (5 gallon) water – that should be fine, right?

7. As a parent, what specifically should I be most concerned about?

8. Do air filters really work? What should I consider when I’m buying one?

9. How much does it cost to get my air and water tested?

10. Any interesting stories?

 

#1. How is the situation here in China different when it comes to getting clean air and water?

Common challenges for residents living in China include:

• Low awareness and regulatory protection for indoor pollution, particularly the health effects of mold and lead exposure. There are Chinese guidelines for indoor air quality but no enforcement because companies are not required to have their building air tested each year

• Lack of public data on municipal air and water quality, often taken for granted as public “right-to-know” in residents’ home countries

• Testing companies speak little or no English, provide no advice on what hazards to test for, no interpretation of the results, and are not allowed by law to correct the problems, forcing you to search for another solutions provider

• No single testing company has the capability to cover the entire range of indoor environmental pollutants forcing a piecemeal approach

• Chinese pollution standards are often set lower than international standards, so a “passing” grade in China might mean something entirely different back home

• Remediation techniques are often misguided or worsen the problem

 

#2. Why should I bother getting my air and water tested if I can’t control pollution?

While it’s true that there’s not much we can immediately do to limit the air and water pollution in China, the US EPA estimates that we spend more than 80% of our lives indoors. Because modern homes are tightly built, indoor air can is typically 5-10 times worse than the outdoor air, and concentration of individual air pollutants indoors can build up to be 100 times higher than outside. The good news is that we can almost completely control our indoor environment.

What do I mean by “indoor environmental quality” (IEQ)? It means:

• Air: free of particulates, toxic chemicals, and allergens

• Water: free of carcinogens, bacteria, and toxic heavy metals

• Lead-free from one of the most preventable poisons that cause mental and physical retardation in children

• Mold-free to reduce allergies and asthma

         

Finally, the biggest reason for learning about your own home’s air and water is that you have to first know what’s wrong in order to fix it. It’s not unlike getting a health check first from the doctor before buying medicine.

 

#3. What are the biggest problems when it comes to Shanghai air?

I come across three pollutants that frequently exceed international safety standards:

Indoor pollutant	Source	Health impact
Particulates	Outdoor air (coal burning, soot, vehicle emissions); smoking; dust mites; pet dander;	Microscopic particles lodge in lungs and trigger asthma and allergies, raise blood pressure leading to strokes and heart attacks; result in lower birthweight
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)	Chemicals released by particle-board furniture; glues; paint; household cleaners; vehicle emissions	Cause neurological symptoms (headaches, fatigue, nausea), eye and respiratory tract irritation. Long term exposure linked to liver, kidney, and CNS system damage and some cancers.
Airborne lead	Primarily from industrial production byproducts; smoking; leaded fuels; contaminated soil tracked indoors	Decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing, sterility and brain retardation. Children under six are most at risk. Effects are irreversible but preventable

 

#4. What are the biggest problems when it comes to Shanghai water?

Despite all the bad press, the quality of tap water in Shanghai is actually quite good when it leaves the purification plants. However, between the plants and your kitchen tap are miles of old piping, bacteria build-up, and poorly maintained storage tanks that lead to secondary contamination.

 

Indoor pollutant	Source	Health impact
Chlorine	The source waters for tapwater (Huangpu and Yangze rivers) are so contaminated that high levels of chlorine are needed for disinfection	Although chlorine kills microorganisms, chlorine also strips oils leading to dry and brittle skin and hair. It also damages lungs and contributes to asthma. Chlorine can react with organic materials to form carcinogenic byproducts called THMs
Turbidity (cloudiness of the water)	Organic material in the water or biofilm (bacterial material) in the piping and storage tanks	Turbidity is an indicator of organic material that can generate bacteria and/or react with chlorine to create carcinogenic byproducts
Lead	Leached from old plumbing or storage tanks	Decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing, sterility and brain retardation. Children under six are most at risk. Effects are irreversible but preventable

 

#5. Is the water here safe to drink? Safe to shower with? Safe to brush my teeth with?

I see people who brush their teeth with bottled water as well as people who drink tap water. For most generally healthy people, filtered tap water is safe to drink, as long as you select the filtration technology suitable for your kind of water. Filtration does not have to be very expensive. Many (including my family) also choose to use bottled water (from a reputable distributor) because we prefer the taste.

About half or more of our clients already have some kind of filtration in place. But, most do not have shower filters. Research published in the American Journal of Public Health links chlorine and chlorine byproducts to “significant increases in certain types of cancer, asthma and skin irritations…” and determined that “up to two-thirds of the harmful exposure was due to skin absorption and inhalation of chlorine in shower water”. Steam can contain up to 20 times the chlorine found in tap water. The higher the heat and length, the greater the vaporization and inhalation. Although you can take quicker, colder showers, inexpensive shower filters (as little as 400rmb) are a better choice.

 

#6. Great, so I use bottled (5 gallon) water – that should be fine, right?

I hate to be a party-pooper, but this is China and there are few laws that regulate bottled suppliers. Several months ago, we tested several brands of water from a local distributor and found the exact same water chemistry across all of them. This didn’t mean that the water was necessarily bad, but that the distributor was filling branded bottles with the same water. While this might not seem to be a big deal, if you’re choosing distilled water for your baby formula and you’re getting mineralized water instead, this is a safety issue. Also, if your distributor is doing this, chances are, they aren’t very concerned about the quality either. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot that you can do about it other than getting water deliveries directly from the branded company or by insisting that your management company (if you live in a compound) put a testing program in place. We would be happy to help with this if you want to put us in touch with the right person.

Finally, clean your dispenser regularly – about every 4-6 weeks – to avoid bacterial problems. This is easy to do and you can follow our simple instructions here.

 

#7. As a parent, what specifically should I be most concerned about?

Expectant mothers should be especially concerned about fine particulates. High levels are so prevalent in China and exposure has been correlated with lower birthweight and size, particularly among male infants (this part hasn’t been explained). Particulates affect young children more than adults because their lungs’ natural defenses have not fully developed and they breathe in nearly twice the rate of adults per pound of bodyweight due to their faster breathing rate and lower weight.

Second, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) considers lead to be the greatest environmental health risk to children. Used for many years in paint, gasoline, and plumbing, it continues to be used in electronics and plastics manufacture. Yet, it is extremely poisonous at trace amounts, causing elevated blood pressure, kidney dysfunction, anemia, and physical and mental retardation. Despite this, about 34% of children in China have blood-lead levels that exceed the WHO limit, according to researchers at the Beijing University Health Science Center, who reviewed 10 years of data on the topic. For more detailed information on lead, its causes, and prevention, read here.

Finally, carbon monoxide is dangerous because unlike many airborne pollutants, it is odorless, colorless, and can kill in minutes.  Any Shanghai resident who lives on the ground floor, has a furnace, or is otherwise close to a source of combustion, should have their air tested and a carbon monoxide detector installed.

 

#8. Do air filters really work? What should I consider when I’m buying one?

 

Air filters do work. They work by pulling in air, processing it through a filter or other purification technology to remove particulates and/or pollutants, and then recirculating the air back out. I’ve conducted some research with my test equipment to show the impact of activities such as opening the window, smoking a cigarette, lighting candles, as well as using an air filter and exhaust fan, on the level of particulates in the air. This graph shows clearly that air filters can be effective!

However, all air filters are not created equal. The ability to circulate the air, maintenance costs, operating noise levels, and after-sales support can all figure into your choice. Also, different technologies treat different problems in your air, whether bacterial, particulates, gases, or viral. If you don’t know what you need to treat in your air, you may be overpaying for unnecessary capabilities (specialized filters cost a lot), or worse, getting a false sense of confidence and not addressing the problems you have. As part of our testing, we provide recommendations on what air purifiers are right for you and can even provide you discounts, as we work with a number of best-in-class brands. Check out our detailed guide to buying an air purifier in China.

 

#9. How much does it cost to get my air and water tested?

Costs depend on what tests are conducted and how many rooms or “points” are tested. This varies widely based on every client’s situation, so we generally conduct a quick interview to learn about symptoms, building type, family member health sensitivities, and size of the home or office before recommending a test panel. As a rough guide, air testing might run around 2100rmb for a healthy single or couple in a small apartment to 4000 for a large family in a villa. Water is a little easier, because generally only one sample is needed, and ranges from about 600-1200.

Every testing includes ensuring you understand what is being tested and why, a home inspection by an English-speaking trained environmentalist, and a report that interprets the results in plain language benchmarked against international and national standards. Most of our clients find that what is most valuable is the customized advice we give in recommending strategies to resolve any identified problem.

 

#10. Any interesting stories?

A big part of our job is not just testing air and interpreting the numbers, but investigating potential problems and looking for symptoms when we are at clients’ homes. Smell is one of our most important tools, and on one visit, when I walked into a room, I immediately detected a foul odor. It was a little musty, and definitely organic, so I suspected mold. Maybe bacteria. I crawled around for a bit, pulling up the carpet, sniffing in corners, until the smell got strong and ripe. Sure enough, I found the source – it was my lab tech’s stocking feet. After that day, I started a new rule – no more shoes off on house visits!

 

– contributed by Louie Cheng, Founder of PureLivingChina

 

 

A message from Louie:

“We started PureLiving China with a simple mission: to help our clients test the quality of their air and water, identify sources of pollution, and then eliminate them to create healthy and safe indoor homes and workplaces. Since we spend upwards of 90% of our time indoors, the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink and bathe in contribute greatly to our quality of life and our long-term health. Unfortunately, since every building type, occupant health sensitivities, and activities are different, each home or office’s indoor environment is unique. Often, different rooms in the same apartment, much less apartments in the same building complex, have very different sets of problems requiring different solutions.

Until now, there have been virtually no options for Shanghai residents to get good advice on how and what to test in their air and water, how to evaluate the results, and how to solve their individual indoor pollution problems.

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