U.S. calls Beijing pollution levels "awful" before Olympics

[Brent]

A thick soup of eye-stinging smog hangs over Beijing's Olympic Stadium, without any blue sky in sight.

With six months to go before the Olympic Games, Beijing's air pollution on most days is off the charts, and in August, high humidity only exacerbates the problem.

China's growing passion for cars, and its citywide construction boom, are largely to blame. There are 1,000 new vehicles in the capital every day.

Today, Chinese media reported that Beijing will close more than 150 gas stations and oil depots, by the end of May, to decrease air pollution.

In three months, the city also plans to shut down city construction sites. According to the official Web site of the Olympic Games, Zhou Shengxian, head of the State Environmental Protection Administration, said the government will close several "coal-fired power plants, as well as steel mills and cement plants, to cut emissions of the acid rain-causing pollutant."

Olympic bronze medal-winning marathoner Deena Kastor worries she will be forced to gulp down huge quantities of polluted air, should she make this year's U.S. marathon team.

"It's going to be very taxing in the endurance events, and breathing in that pollution is going to be hard on everyone's lungs," Kastor said.

Physicians advising the U.S. Olympic team have been to Beijing three times in the last two years, to measure pollution levels. They have also visited the start of the marathon route in Tiananmen Square. Each time, they told ABC News that the readings were "awful."

Chinese doctor Pan Xiaochuan said athletes may experience a range of symptoms, from coughing and shortness of breath, to asthma attacks and serious heart problems.

Beijing officials hope that last minute measures, such as restricting traffic in the weeks leading up to the games, will be enough to clear the air.

If not, the international Olympic committee has said it may have to reschedule certain events — but that may upset finely tuned training regimens for many athletes.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/International/ ... 446&page=1

[RL3AO]

Might turn out to be a huge mistake give Beijing the games. I don't know if the pollution in Shanghai is any better, but I doubt the Chinese will be able to make drastic changes by shutting down a few gas stations.

[Chacor]

As far as I'm aware the British Olympic Association have threatened to ask their athletes to wear dust masks.

[wyq614]

Ustedes no se preocupen, Beijing va a hacer todas las cosas para asegurar que los Juegos Olímpicos se celebraran sin problema.

[Cryomaniac]

Ustedes no se preocupen, Beijing va a hacer todas las cosas para asegurar que los Juegos Olímpicos se celebraran sin problema.

I don't think people are saying there will be problems as such, but I think they are expressing concerns. As for the British olympic association thing, it would be hilarious if they went through with it, although I somehow doubt it.

Ok, the wierdness of me replying in English to a Chinese guy, who posted in Spanish, just hit me

[Chacor]

The food's a problem too:

China has expressed regret that the US has decided not to trust its food during this summer's Olympic Games.

The US delegation has said it is planning to bring its own food for American athletes.

At a news conference in Beijing, a senior official, Kang Yi, said it was a pity that the US had apparently decided not to trust China's food.

Ms Kang insisted that the food served to athletes at the Olympics would exceed international health standards.

For China, a good Olympic Games means cheering spectators, record-breaking performances and athletes and fans all sitting down to enjoy some good Chinese-made food.

But the US is not so sure about the food part, and plans to import its own meat and cook its own meals for its athletes when they get to Beijing.

Ms Kang and her colleagues were asked about the allegation that chickens on sale here are so full of hormones that athletes would test positive for steroids if they were to eat them.

There is no scientific evidence for this, insisted Lu Yong, who runs Beijing's municipal food safety monitoring centre.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7256237.stm

"I think this is the number one issue facing our (Olympic) teams," said Mike Tancred, media director for the Australian Olympic Committee.

In order to prevent any food-related problems during the event, the Australians have advised their athletes what to eat, and what not to eat.

"We have recommended they do not purchase food from street vendors outside the Olympic village," said Mr Tancred.

The Australians are also bringing some of their own food, and have told athletes only to drink water supplied by Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola.

Despite the precautions, Mr Tancred revealed that a number of Australian athletes have become sick while taking part in Olympic test events in Beijing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7245652.stm

[coriolis]

Maybe the athletes should take up smoking to get in shape for competition in the polluted air.

[artist]

Maybe the athletes should take up smoking to get in shape for competition in the polluted air.

[wyq614]

Dear Sirs... In China, there is a proverb called “外事无小事”, which explains a faith that everything that has something to do with the foreigners is very important. For example, if you encounters danger, for example, if you are lost in mountaineous areas and trapped in a cliff in China, you are to be saved by planes of air forces! China is now always doing his best for the foreigners, it works so hard that many people even think it is trying to PLEASE the foreigners too much and it is going too far. In Japan you will never pass the custom first as a foreigner, the Japanese always go first than you, but in China, foreigners are served first and considered friends of China always.

So as for the food, you don't need to worry about it much. Beijing will certainly serve the athletes the food with BEST QUALITY, following the instruction of the proverb mentioned above.

[Aquawind]

it works so hard that many people even think it is trying to PLEASE the foreigners too much and it is going too far.

Clearly they should concentrate on helping their own people more than foriegners..nobody would fault them for that. Then the criticism and skepticism would turn in favor of the Chinese Gov't.

[HURAKAN]

Lets hope they never celebrate the olympics in Mexico City or LA. They may encounter similar problems with air pollution.

By the way, didn't the association notice these problems before giving Beijing the olympics?

[Aquawind]

Lets hope they never celebrate the olympics in Mexico City or LA. They may encounter similar problems with air pollution.

By the way, didn't the association notice these problems before giving Beijing the olympics?

I don't think these descisions are based on anything other than money and politics. Heck half of the venues need to get built before the games even start and any location these days. They are clearly trying to portray a good image and hide the reality of widespread human suffering and internal problems.

[Stratosphere747]

Lets hope they never celebrate the olympics in Mexico City or LA. They may encounter similar problems with air pollution.

Let's see, they already have celebrated the Olympics in LA back in 84. I'd also venture to guess that the pollution levels were worse back then than they are today.

[HURAKAN]

Lets hope they never celebrate the olympics in Mexico City or LA. They may encounter similar problems with air pollution.

Let's see, they already have celebrated the Olympics in LA back in 84. I'd also venture to guess that the pollution levels were worse back then than they are today.

I usually don't venture into these topics because my sport is baseball. Outside of baseball, I feel alienated in the world of sports!!!!

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

It is about time. Anyone who has ever either visited there, or else seen a day time video of the city, could tell you the same thing with unwavering confidence.

[Brent]

Lets hope they never celebrate the olympics in Mexico City or LA. They may encounter similar problems with air pollution.

By the way, didn't the association notice these problems before giving Beijing the olympics?

Both have held Olympics before

[gtalum]

Lets hope they never celebrate the olympics in Mexico City or LA. They may encounter similar problems with air pollution.

By the way, didn't the association notice these problems before giving Beijing the olympics?

Neither of these cities is as polluted as Beijing.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

Lets hope they never celebrate the olympics in Mexico City or LA. They may encounter similar problems with air pollution.

By the way, didn't the association notice these problems before giving Beijing the olympics?

Neither of these cities is as polluted as Beijing.

Agreed; many cities of SE and South Asia, like Beijing and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) for example, have truly disgusting levels of atmospheric pollutants. I'd easily say (by both visiting there and seeing similar places on TV) they are the worst places in the world for day time smog.

[lurkey]

Champion Pulls Out of Olympic Race Due to Pollution
Amidst growing worry over Beijing's air quality, Haile Gebrselassie pulls out of the marathon citing concern for his asthma
By Gregory Mone Posted 03.10.2008 at 11:23 am 0 Comments
Haile Gebrselassie :

Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie has announced that he will not race in the marathon at this year’s Beijing Olympics due to the potential pollution. Gebrselassie, the world record holder in the event, says he suffers from exercise-induced asthma, and that the risk to his health would be too great for him to run that race, though he does plan to compete in the shorter 10,000 meter event.

China has announced numerous plans to clean the air prior to the Games—the country has said it will limit traffic in the city, shut down factories and even attempt to modify the weather with technology. But as we’ve written before, these local measures might not suffice, as some scientists have found that much of Beijing’s pollution often comes from far-off sources. Gebrselassie isn’t the only athlete to protest. Other runners have expressed concern about the foul air, and officials have suggested that these longer races may be delayed by a few hours or longer in the case of intense smog.