Experts are worried that particulate matter in the air, which is in higher concentrations in North China because of the heavy fog since the weekend, may lead to various respiratory diseases including lung infections and cancer.
由于我國北方自上周末以來一直持續大霧天氣，有專家擔憂，空氣中含有的濃度較高的顆粒物很可能會導致包括肺部感染以及肺癌在內的多種呼吸道疾病。

Shi Yuankai, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Cancer Hospital, said longtime exposure to particulate matter especially the particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) which can go directly to the alveoli of the lungs, is a major health hazard.
中國醫學科學院腫瘤醫院副院長石遠凱表示，長期暴露在含有顆粒物環境中，尤其當顆粒物的直徑小于2.5微米（這種顆粒物被稱為PM2.5），可以直接作用于肺泡時，這種情況對人體健康構成重要威脅。

"Even if we can manage to keep the country`s smoking rate flat, the lung cancer rate is expected to keep rising for 20 or 30 years and worsening air pollution could be the major culprit," he said.
“即便我們能夠使全國吸煙率保持平穩，預計在20或30年之內，肺癌發生率還是會持續上升，而愈發嚴重的空氣污染問題將成為罪魁禍首。”他說。

Air quality in the capital has deteriorated because of the heavy fog. Beijing`s air was slightly polluted on Monday, according to the China National Environmental Monitoring Center.
由于濃霧的原因，首都的空氣質量已經惡化。中國環境檢測中心報告稱，本周一，北京的空氣質量呈輕度污染狀態。

However, the United States embassy, which conducts its own measurements based on the concentration of PM2.5 in the air, rated Monday`s air in Beijing as "hazardous".
然而，美國大使館根據其基于空氣中直徑小于2.5微米的顆粒物濃度而測量出的結果，則將北京星期一的空氣質量等級評為“有害的”。

Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, echoed Shi`s concern.
呼吸內科專家兼中國工程院院士鐘南山對石遠凱的擔憂表示認同。

He said that without intervention, PM2.5, a major cause of choking smog, would replace smoking tobacco as the top risk factor for lung cancer.
他表示，如果不采取任何措施的話，造成令人窒息的濃霧的主要因素之一——PM2.5將會取代吸煙，成為誘發肺癌的首要因素。

In Beijing, the lung cancer rate has increased by 60 percent during the past decade, even though the smoking rate during the period has not seen an apparent increase, said Mao Yu, deputy director of the Beijing Health Bureau.
北京市衛生局副局長毛羽說，在過去十年中，北京的吸煙率并沒有顯著提高，但肺癌的發病率卻上升了60%。

"Increasing air pollution might be largely blamed for that," said Zhi Xiuyi, director of the Lung Cancer Treatment Center at Capital Medical University.
“這很大程度上要歸咎于日漸嚴重的空氣污染。”首都醫科大學肺癌診療中心主任支修益說。

"The smaller the particle, the more hazardous it is for public health," Shi Yuankai said. "Worse, protective measures like wearing face masks barely help because the particles are too small."
“顆粒越小，其對公共健康造成的危害就越大。”石遠凱說，“更糟糕的是，因為顆粒太小，像戴口罩這樣的保護性措施幾乎不會起到什么作用。”

The disastrous effects of smog are nothing new.
這種由濃霧引發的災難效應已不是什么新鮮事了。

In the winter of 1952, dense smog in London caused mainly by heavy coal combustion killed about 12,000 people in the city.
1952年冬天，由于人們過度燒煤造成倫敦當地的煙霧濃度過大，致使約1.2萬人死亡。

That incident prompted the British government to move to clean up the air, and the effort paid off, for today, PM10 concentrations read at the significantly lower level of around 30 micrograms per cubic meter in the city.
該事件促使英國政府進一步采取行動來凈化空氣。而他們的努力得到了回報，如今倫敦市的PM10濃度（直徑小于10微米的顆粒物）明顯下降到一個比較低的級別，每立方米只有30微克左右。

According to the World Health Organization, the main components of particulate matter are sulfate, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, carbon, mineral dust and water.
據世界衛生組織稱，微粒物的主要成分為硫酸鹽、硝酸鹽、氨、氯化鈉、碳、礦物性粉塵和水。

Even in the EU, average life expectancy is 8.6 months shorter due to exposure to PM2.5, though the lung cancer rate has slightly decreased there in recent years, studies found.
研究發現，即使是在近年來肺癌發病率略微下降的歐盟國家中，其平均壽命也因為暴露在PM2.5環境中的原因而縮短了8.6個月。

"It is possible to derive a quantitative relationship between pollution levels and specific health outcomes," according to a 2005 World Health Organization report. Yet, in China, "we have few such studies", said Shi Yuankai.
“污染程度和具體的健康狀況之間可能存在某種定量關系。”一份于2005年發布的世界衛生組織報告中提到。但在中國，“目前我們還很少進行這樣的研究”，石遠凱說。