Pollution no major problem for athletes, visitors: IOC

BEIJING (Reuters) - Pollution in Beijing will not pose serious problems for the athletes and other visitors during the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday.

"I am confident that the air quality will not pose major problems to athletes and visitors here," IOC Medical Commission chief Arne Ljungqvist told the organization's 120th session.

He said data was being assessed on an hourly basis around the clock.

"(It is) hourly data and we will evaluate those and should problems arise we may take some action," he said.

Air quality has become a major concern as rapid economic growth in China has also brought with it increased pollution and deterioration of air quality.

Organizers have pulled cars off the streets, shut polluting factories and announced many other measures to improve air quality during the Aug 8-24 Games.

The IOC has said it would reschedule events that last more than an hour if air quality was bad on the day.

Ljungqvist said Games organizers, Beijing authorities and the IOC had used strict World Health Organization standards and Beijing was meeting those.

Of three standards, Beijing's air quality was monitored according to the middle one, the so-called interim standard, used for developing countries, he said.

"We used the WHO standards in evaluation," Ljungqvist said. "Those standards are fairly tough to meet but in many respects the Beijing area does.

He said the health risks from the air quality in Beijing were only a potential concern for residents and long-term visitors rather than for people attending the Games.

Ljungqvist said hot and humid conditions coupled with a haze that covered Beijing on Monday were sometimes mistaken for pollution.

"The misty air is not a feature of pollution but a feature of evaporation and humidity."

(Editing by Miles Evans)

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