> Air pollution shrouds Beijing on eve of Olympics
> By TINI TRAN – 6 hours ago
>
> BEIJING (AP) — The wall of gray haze around the National Stadium and
> across the city cut visibility down to a mile. On the eve of opening
> ceremonies, Beijing's polluted air took center stage Thursday as the
> most visibly pressing problem for Olympic organizers who had promised
> to clean up the Chinese capital.
>
> Despite China's enormous attempts to improve the air quality in the
> run-up to the Summer Games, the stubbornly thick haze that covered the
> city illustrated how difficult and elusive a target clear skies can
> be. In the end, it will come down to the wild card of weather: rain
> and wind.
>
> "I hoped that the measures could have more effect than they had in the
> last week," said Zhu Tong, an associate professor at Peking
> University's College of Environmental Science and Engineering who has
> been advising the government on pollution issues.
>
> "Unfortunately, we had meteorological conditions that weren't good for
> clearing up the sky. So the stagnant air in Beijing has helped
> pollutants accumulate. I really hope in the next couple weeks, we'll
> have conditions that will help us clear up the sky."
>
> The forecast for Friday, the official opening ceremony for the games,
> was overcast skies with a slight chance of showers in the afternoon,
> China's meteorological agency said. But relief may come by the
> weekend, with a prediction of moderate rain that could help wash out
> pollutants.
>
> On Thursday, Beijing's air pollution index was recorded at 96, which
> came close to exceeding the national level for acceptable air. Levels
> between 51-100 are considered moderate pollution, and anything over
> 100 is harmful to sensitive groups, including children and the
> elderly.
>
> The Associated Press has been compiling its own pollution data since
> mid-July, recording snapshot readings of Beijing's worst pollutant —
> tiny dust particles known as particulate matter 10.
>
> The independent spot checks collected from the Olympic Green, the main
> sports thoroughfare, showed that, even though there are dramatic ups
> and downs, PM 10 concentrations were often much higher than what the
> World Health Organization considers healthy. On Friday, AP readings
> showed a PM 10 concentration of 373 micrograms per cubic meter — far
> above the WHO guidelines for healthy air of 50 micrograms per cubic
> meter.
>
> The notoriously dirty air in this megacity of 17 million has been a
> leading concern since Beijing won the bid for the Olympics in 2001.
> China has poured 140 billion yuan — $20 billion — into "greening" the
> city, including doubling the number of subway lines, retrofitting
> factories with cleaner technology and building urban parks. But
> environmental efforts have often been outpaced by constant
> construction and increased traffic.
>
> To help ensure clean air for the Olympics, Beijing officials imposed
> drastic measures in mid-July, including pulling half the city's 3.3
> million vehicles off the roads, halting most construction and closing
> dozens of factories.
>
> Environmental officials say the measures are having an impact, noting
> a 20 percent drop in major pollutants in July, compared with the same
> time last year. However, it's clear the sweeping measures have failed
> to guarantee the crystalline skies China hoped to showcase. Instead,
> the past three weeks have been marked by extremes — going from pea
> soup haze to swirling blue skies, often after strong winds or a
> downpour.
>
> Athletes participating in the Aug. 8-24 games have raised concerns
> from the start about the impact of the city's pollution on their
> health and their performance, with many choosing to train outside of
> Beijing.
>
> Those concerns were again highlighted when four members of the U.S.
> cycling team wore face masks as they walked off the airplane when they
> arrived this week. They later apologized.
>
> International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge praised China
> on Thursday for doing everything "feasible and humanly possible" to
> combat air pollution, and said conditions will be safe for athletes to
> compete.
>
> Rogge reiterated that outdoor endurance events, such as the marathon,
> could be postponed or rescheduled if smog levels are too high. The IOC
> will monitor the air quality on an hourly basis at 21 reporting
> stations and receive 72-hour weather forecasts. Heat and humidity
> could also be a factor during the games.
>
> Despite the concerns by athletes, there is little evidence that they
> or other short-term visitors would suffer long-term health damage
> because of pollution levels in Beijing, said Hans Troedsson, the head
> of the World Health Organization in China.
>
> Instead, the group facing the biggest risks from pollution are the
> city's residents, he said. Long-term exposure to air pollution means
> increased chances of developing asthma, respiratory disease and heart
> disease, he said.
>
> "We have to remember that it's not short-term exposure that's of
> concern, it's the long-term," he said. "For us, it's important to see
> how these (environmental) efforts are sustained."
>
> If China remains committed to continuing these measures in the long-
> run, the result could be "a public health legacy after the Olympics,"
> he said.