Hazardous Air Quality Threatens Olympic Athletes?

Back in 1984 when the Summer Olympic Games were held in my home town of Los Angeles, I bought a souvenir t-shirt that I still have in my collection. It's a drawing of an Olympic torch-bearing runner zipping into the Coliseum wearing a gas mask.  It seemed funny at the time.

Now, more than 20 years later, with the specter of global warming looming large, and China's entry into economic super-power status, it appears as though things are as bad as they ever were.  If you've been following the story, you know that there is a huge concern about the air quality that will greet (and possibly defeat) the athletes who will compete in Beijing just a few short days from now.

China's booming economy and passion for automobiles (there are approximately 1,000 new automobiles driving in Beijing every day),  combined with the citywide construction boom are being blamed for the extremely hazardous air conditions.  In fact, one Chinese doctor quoted recently by ABC News said that athletes competing at the Olympics may suffer a whole range of symptoms including coughing, shortness of breath, asthma attacks and serious heart problems. ABC further reports that many competitors from outside the country will be waiting until the last minute to arrive in Beijing to minimize exposure to the capital city's foul air!

According to the World Health Organization, since June 23rd, the air quality in Beijing has been unsafe, exceeding by three times the recommended minimum safe level of air pollutants. And according to Dr. Jonathan Parsons, a pulmonologist at Ohio State Medical Center,"These ingredients are toxic to the lungs of normal people, and athletes who breathe in large amounts of air while exercising are particularly at risk."

Many Chinese can commonly be seen wearing face masks in the capital city, and similarly, the US Olympic competitors have been provided with sophisticated face masks specifically designed for their protection.  Nonetheless, according to Dr Parsons, no one has ever proven that the face masks really provide athletes any protection.

As the Games draw near,Chinese officials are debating about whether or not to take drastic measures.  Such measures would include eliminating 90% of the automobile traffic on the roads. (Interestingly- the LA Olympic committee did something similar in 1984 by restricting diesel traffic to certain times of the day and encouraging business to limit their hours thereby reducing the number of people commuting on the freeways during the '84 games.)

Of course, all of this begs the obvious question.  It is one thing to consider the health of elite athletes for a few weeks in August. What about the health of men, women and children in China 365 days of the year?

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