A Chinese shopper walks past a Western health clinic in Beijing, where some say bad air quality, water shortages and desertification pose a threat to development. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
A Chinese woman wears a heavy-duty air mask as she walks through hazardous pollution hanging over Beijing earlier this month. Environmental groups in China have issued a report detailing more than 1,000 companies that they say regularly exceed emissions standards, an attempt to "name and shame" Chinese industries that are in part responsible for making many Chinese cities the most polluted in the world. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Traffic flows toward Tiananmen Square and the National Performing Arts Center (known as the Egg because of its shape) as hazardous pollution hangs over Beijing last month. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
The top floor of an international hotel overlooks a polluted central Beijing last month. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
DAZHOU, China, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- As parts of China choke under dangerous levels of smog, an environmental official in the southwest China city of Dazhou said he has pinpointed the cause: smoked bacon.
Rao Bing, deputy head of the Dazhou Environment Protection Bureau, said smoking, the traditional method used to preserve pork, was releasing dangerous toxins into the air. As local residents prepare for the Chinese New Year with traditional foods that include sausage and bacon, the smog in the area has increased.
Since early January, a blanket of smog has been hanging over parts of China, including Beijing. Officials said its the worst bout of smog since January 2013.
Many blame local construction, including oil refineries, steel mills and power plants, as well as automobile exhaust as the cause. In Dazhou, which is about 1,000 miles from Beijing, local law enforcement has been raiding and demolishing meat-smoking sites in their efforts to decrease air pollution.
