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Air pollution concerns

Concern has been raised over the air quality of Beijing and its potential effect on the athletes. Although the Beijing Municipal Government, in its bid file in 2001, committed to lowering air pollution, increasing environmental protection, and introducing environmental technology, research data show that even if the city were to dramatically cut down its emissions, pollution would still drift over from neighboring provinces, from which 50 percent of Beijing's air is believed to originate. At current levels, air pollution is at least 2 to 3 times higher than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization. Marco Cardinale of the British Olympic Association has stated that air pollution coupled with heat and humidity makes it "very unlikely we'll see outstanding performances in endurance sports." Despite this, Beijing committed to remove 60,000 taxis and buses from the roads by the end of 2007 and relocate 200 local factories, including a prominent steel factory, before the games begin. The Chinese government has provided assurances that "blue skies are a requirement not only for Beijing, but also for the places around it." The United States Olympic Committee has also expressed its assurance that the air quality of Beijing will not be a concern for the U.S. delegation to the games. Nevertheless, the IOC's medical commission recently analyzed air-quality data recorded by the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau in August, when test athletic events were held in the Chinese capital. The commission found that outdoor endurance events -- defined as those that include at least an hour of continuous, high-intensity physical effort -- may pose some risk.

In spite of such efforts, several countries have indicated that their athletes will arrive at the games as late as possible to limit exposure to pollution. Many teams have set up offshore training camps in Japan and South Korea to avoid the pollution.

In early July, Beijing ordered 40 factories in Tianjin and 300 factories in Tangshan, two cities close to the capital, to begin suspending operations in an effort to reduce air pollution. A major temporary air pollution control plan began on July 20, that included shutting additional factories as well as using odd-even license plate restrictions that limited Beijing motorists to driving on alternate days, depending on whether the last number on their license plate is odd or even, in order to reduce daily traffic by two million vehicles. Despite the program, by July 28 the China Daily reported that Beijing's skies remained alarmingly polluted and that authorities are considering emergency measures during the Games.

Air quality measurements in Beijing

    PM₁₀ levels higher than WHO Air Quality Guideline (>50 μg/m³)
    PM₁₀ levels higher than WHO Interim Target 1 Levels (>150 μg/m³)
    Air Pollution Index level higher than IOC and Chinese target of 100
^† Emergency pollution control measures were implemented on July 1, 2008. Stricter meaures were imposed on July 20, 2008.

Weather forecasting

Meteorological findings in April 2007 also have suggested that, based on rainfall data from the past 30 years, there is a 50 percent chance of rain for the opening and closing ceremonies of the games. To combat the chance of poor weather, Beijing officials plan to seed clouds to induce rain several days before the games begin by shooting thousands of silver iodide pellets into the air using ground-based rockets. While the effectiveness of this method is questionable, Beijing is optimistic that it will reduce the chance of rainfall during the games, and planned to carry out several tests as a practice in the summer of 2007, one year before the games begin. Officials have also stated that inducing rain should also remove some of the pollution from the air.

Water and drought history

The water coming out of the water plants is safe, according to Bi Xiaogang of the Beijing Water Management Bureau. The process of transporting the water throughout the city is what contaminates it. Beijing is suffering from a drought of 15 years as well as a lack of major fresh water sources elsewhere, so many locals drink bottled water instead of that from the tap. Officials of the city water authority have ensured, however, that "the safety and efficiency of the water system" will be maintained and that the recycled water supplied to the Olympic Village will be as clean as tap water.

Following recent scares regarding the safety of food products manufactured in China, the United States Olympic Committee has decided to import food for its athletes. In particular, athletes were concerned that eating meat that was raised in China could contain enough steroids to cause the athletes to test positive for steroid use. The United States Olympic Committee's plan to bring its own food to China has disappointed the leader of food services for the Beijing Olympics. Several Canadian athletes have received permission to do the same.

Algal bloom

With less than six weeks before it plays host to the Olympic sailing regatta, the city of Qingdao has mobilized thousands of people and an armada of small boats to clean up an algae bloom, the result of a red tide, that is choking large stretches of the coastline and threatening to impede the Olympic competition. Approximately one third of the waters where Olympic events are supposed to take place are affected; this has prompted China to mobilize 20,000 people to clean up and the state media reported that 100,000 tons of algae had already been taken out of the water. Much of it was being transported to farms as feed for pigs and other animals, according to news reports. Officials claim that poor water quality is "not a substantial" link to the current bloom. And by the time of the start of the sailing races in Qingdao ,the algae had been cleaned up.

Locust prevention

More than 33,000 exterminators have been dispatched to battle a locust infestation in northern China. Under the plan, some 200 tonnes of pesticides, 100,000 sprayers and four airplanes are being used to kill the pests.

Oil slick

A 2 km² (0.77 sq mi) oil slick was discovered off the coast of Qingdao. Officials said that the oil would not affect Olympic sailing. The oil slick was discovered around mid-August(19/8/2008).

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

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