Beijing was issued its first Orange Pollution Alert this past Friday, a move that comes on the heels of being labelled a place "uninhabitable for human beings". As of this moment, the US Embassy in Beijing has recorded an AQI of 400 on Monday morning. The air pollution in Beijing has become an important health issue for every resident in the city. What’s a Beijinger supposed to do?
Fortunately for all of us, someone is looking out to try and ensure the safety of our health. Dr Richard Saint Cyr MD, blogger of My Health Beijing and columnist of "The Doc is In" on beijing-kids.com, is looking for financial support to help conduct independent research to determine the best air pollution masks. With a lack of professional advice on suitable masks for adults and children, Dr Saint Cyr will be testing all the top brands – 3M, Totobobo, Vogmask, Respro, 绿盾 – and will publish his findings to share with everyone.
Dr Saint Cyr tells us the process by which he’ll conduct the research:
All interested parties can contribute to this cause at Rally.org or on Alipay 支付宝 in which funds should be transferred to the account for myhealthbeijing@gmail.com. Dr Saint Cyr hopes to raise 10,000 USD in order to be able to fully make a complete study. As well, Dr Saint Cyr states that all funds raised will be for non-profit purposes: all unused disposable masks and all reusable masks, as well as any extra funds, will be donated to the non-profit Roundabout charity store in the Shunyi neighborhood of Beijing.
We’ll keep you updated on any new developments in Dr Saint Cyr’s study; without it, who knows how far we’ll need to take precautions?
Photos: Weibo, myhealthbeijing.com, Weibo
This blog was originally posted on theBeijinger.com.
