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A 5-year Chinese-Norwegian research project was launched in the autumn of 1999. Forested sites for intensive studies are or will be established in the Chongqing municipality and in Guizhou, Hunan and Guangdong provinces in southern China. Previous studies have shown that harmful effects of acid deposition are likely to be most severe in this region. The research and monitoring sites shall give information about acidification mechanisms and effects on vegetation in order to improve policy oriented acidification models and critical load estimates as well as function as interdisciplinary training centers for acid rain research. Furthermore, the project shall improve the basis for developing an efficient regional acid rain monitoring system. At one site in Guizhou and one in Chongqing, research on soil and soilwater chemistry has been ongoing for several years. The forest at these sites appears to show symptoms of reduced vitality. The sensitivity of Chinese forests to acidification is uncertain and will be focused. Decision-makers should get an improved basis for optimal mitigation measures through the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study of a birth cohort in the city of Tongliang in Chongqing, China, evaluated the relationship between two prenatal exposures (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAH) and environmental tobacco smoke(ETS)) and child intelligence quotient (IQ) as measured by the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence at age 5 years. A coal-fired power plant was the major source of ambient PAH in this city. We tested the hypothesis that, after adjusting for potential confounders, prenatal exposure to these pollutants would be associated with lower IQ scores at 5 years of age. Methods: Nonsmoking mothers and children were enrolled before delivery. PAH exposure was measured by DNA adducts in umbilical cord white blood cells using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Fluorescence. Estimated exposure to environmental tobacco smoke was based on personal interview. At age 5 years, scores for verbal, performance, and full scale IQ were obtained. Multiple regression was used to test the main effects of adducts and environmental tobacco smoke on IQ and to explore the interactions between these exposures on IQ. Results: after adjusting for potential confounders, neither DNA adducts nor exposure to environmental tobacco smoke had significant main effects on IQ. However, significant interactions between adducts and environmental tobacco smoke were observed on full scale (p=0.025) and verbal (p=0.029) IQ scores, indicating that the adverse effects of prenatal PAH exposure became greater as exposure to environmental tobacco smoke increased. The interaction on performance IQ score was not significant (p=0.135). Conclusion: These results suggest that exposure of pregnant women to emissions of PAHs from the coal-burning plant, in combination with prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, may have adversely affected cognitive function of children at age 5. The polluting coal-fired plant has since been closed by the government, with likely important benefits to child health and development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]