(Photo David Reid)

I'm no environmental scientist, but this is a question I've been asking myself for quite some time: how does Taipei/Taiwan stack up to other cities/countries when it comes to air pollution? I haven't been able to make much headway, even though I've done numerous searches in several different places (all the wrong ones), I've come up with no comparisons.

‘Til now.

Sure, I've seen news of some promising studies that give Taipei "excellent" marks compared to other Asian cities, but a recent article in the Taipei Times makes me think that my hunches concerning the muck we breath in here every day might have been correct — especially when I was trying to get over a lung disease over the course of two and half months:

Atmospheric science researchers armed with scientific equipment sampled the air on the streets and on the mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Taipei and discovered that commuters were breathing in four to five times more dangerous particles than normal levels.

Levels of particle matter below 2.5 micrometers in diameter -- or PM2.5 -- and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were highest in the morning and scooter riders stuck in traffic were the most exposed.

"A major source of PM2.5 is engine exhaust," said Lung Shih-chun (龍世俊), associate research fellow at Academia Sinica's Center for Environmental Changes.

"The closer you get to traffic, the higher the concentration of fine particular matter and harmful hydrocarbon compounds," Lung said.

The samplings were taken in 2004 and 2005 between two MRT stations in Taipei .

Lung cited the "Six Cities" study conducted in 1993, which showed a strong correlation between exposure to PM2.5 and cardiovascular and lung-related deaths.

"Fine particulate matters are not filtered out by our body but are breathed deep into the lungs," she said.

The study showed that on average scooter drivers were exposed to PM2.5 concentrations of 161 micrograms per cubic meter during their daily commute, substantially more than the 90 micrograms per cubic meter for car drivers and 105 micrograms per cubic meter for people riding on the MRT.

I found this study [pdf] that shows the relation of Taipei ’s indoor and outdoor levels of PM2.5 compared to those of other cities. The only place higher than Taipei was Hong-Kong at 50.5 micrograms/meter cubed. The cities with comparable PM2.5 densities are Athens and Prague , while Southern California is at 15.4 micrograms/meter cubed.

I’ve started wearing a mask whenever I’m anywhere with substantial traffic, but it doesn’t really comfort me. I don’t feel like it makes me that much safer.

What can you do? I don’t have a gas mask. God knows, it’s too damn hot here to wear anything more than a cotton mask anyway.