Even with "blue skies", is Beijing's air safe?
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing has vowed the Olympic Games will take place under blue skies, not the murky "sauna" haze that has shrouded the city recently, but even on apparently clear days pollution levels may not be safe for athletes.
Officials lavished 120 billion yuan ($17.6 billion) on cleaning up the capital with factories dozens of miles away closed down, construction halted, and over half the city's 3.3 million cars cleared from the roads.
Still, even when Beijing says the air is clear, athletes and their coaches may have cause for concern.
Most Chinese air pollution standards are outside World Health Organization guidelines. Moreover, experts say that the pollution index China uses to tell ordinary citizens whether the air is safe -- a "blue sky" day -- is seriously flawed.
It only uses average measurements across the capital, so some spots could have dangerous levels even when overall readings say it is safe to venture out. And some hazardous pollutants are not included in the index, experts say.
The grey haze hanging over Beijing on Monday highlighted the city's ongoing problems. City pollution monitors said air quality on Monday was Grade II, making it officially a "blue sky day" -- though to the naked eye there was little to distinguish it from the four previous days when air did not meet national standards.
Many athletes have delayed arriving in Beijing until the last minute to avoid bad air, and the International Olympic Committee said it may reschedule endurance events such as the marathon to prevent health risks to athletes if pollution is bad.
Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie has already pulled out of the marathon over fears of damaging his health.
And the Australian Olympic Committee has also said its athletes would be allowed to withdraw if pollution poses a threat.
"For us the athlete's attitude to the event is paramount," AOC vice president Peter Montgomery told reporters.
In contrast Athens, host of the last Games, had long ago dispersed the heavy cloud of smog that polluted most of Greece's Attica region in the 1970s and 1980s.
WHAT IS SAFE?
China's national limits on major pollutants, with effects including breathing problems and lung damage, are more lenient than most of those of the WHO and the European Union.
Some environmentalists say that alone means the country's best may not be good enough for athletes -- because even if the air meets national standards, it will still fail the WHO test.
"If the level is above the line, it is unhealthy," said Paolo Revellino, author of a U.N. Environment Program report on the Olympics released last year. Continued...
