Japanese electronics giant Panasonic said it will give Japanese employees sent to China a cash reward to compensate for the country's poor polluting conditions. It is quite common for a group to pay an off-site compensation to its employees, especially if they are sent to developing or politically unstable countries, but this is probably the first time in history that an international company pays a pollution compensation. The Panasonic spokesman declined to divulge more information on the matter, or to specify how many Japanese workers are present in the People's Republic, a country that has strong trade and manufacturing ties with Japan.
Last weekend, China's deputy environmental protection minister confirmed that the air quality level in major cities had been consistently below national standards in 2013. Only three of the 74 cities monitored by the government had acceptable air levels. specified Wu Xiaoqing. The statement comes after Premier Li Keqiang declared a "war on pollution" in recent days.
The Panasonic document refers to so-called PM 2.5, small particles that easily penetrate the lungs and which have been linked to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths. In the Chinese capital, PM 2.5 levels have repeatedly reached more than 400 micrograms per cubic ton, according to data collected by the US embassy in Beijing, which is 16 times the limits indicated (25 micrograms) in the guidelines of the World Health Organization ( WHO).
China's heavy industry, which depends on the use of coal as the main source of energy, an increase in car emissions and the continuous construction of new buildings are among the causes of this growing problem in the People's Republic.
