Jul 7, 2006

For the people of China, the pollution is an acceptable price to pay for a modern lifestyle

Time magazine reports that the Hong Kong business community loses some $90 million a year in medical costs and lost productivity, largely because of the pollutants that drift in from the mainland.

A record 4,800 runners needed medical treatment, and 22 were sent to hospital. Sproston finished fourth, but she's not sure how much longer she'll run in Hong Kong. "I want to continue doing things outdoors, and I can't see doing it here," she says. "The deterioration has been shocking."

There's far less it can do about the estimated 80% of its air pollution that floats across the border from the mainland factories, power plants and highways of Guangdong province, where environmental regulations and enforcement are more lax.
http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060515/hk_air.html