Beijing's pollution hits Olympic-sized proportions

Beijing pollution of Olympic proportions; Health of athletes threatened by city's growing air-quality problems

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Page: C2
Section: Editorial

'We've kind of adapted to it now," said Annette Antoniak, the president and CEO of Vancouver's Olympic Games Secretariat. She was referring to Beijing's horrific pollution problem during her visit here last week: "But BOCOG has several sustainability measures dealing with pollution."

BOCOG is the acronym for the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, and they do, indeed, have their work cut out for them. But sadly, Antoniak is right: People here are adapting to it, despite its incredibly negative impact on the health of Beijing residents. On the day I met her, Beijing's sky was clouded by a thick grey coat of dust -- an event which is quite common in the capital.

Trying to articulate Beijing's pollution problem to those who have never visited is difficult. There isn't a slight haze in the sky, as can occasionally be seen lingering over Vancouver. Pollution has been so thick in the capital that the airport has been closed and visibility reduced to a few hundred metres. I'll never forget my first few days in the city, when one of my friends said she couldn't wait to get back to Los Angeles to "breathe clean air."

But such is the problem facing Beijing: it's now the second most polluted city in the world, and despite repeated efforts to clean up the problem, it seems to be getting worse.

Beijing has promised that next year's Olympics will be "green," and clearing the muck out of the air has been a priority since Juan Antonio Samaranch awarded the Games to Beijing back in 2001. China has toyed with reduced-car days, has introduced thousands of new, cleaner buses and taxis, and has even moved several coal-burning plants outside of the city. Still, this past June was the most polluted in Beijing in seven years.

How bad is it? Just ask Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, an American Olympian who recently took part in a men's mountain biking test event: "About a half an hour into the race, I had a lot of trouble breathing," he says. "I got to a point where I tried to relax and take a deep breath, and then I started getting nauseous." He threw up halfway through the race. Only eight of the 50 competitors even finished.

If this happens next year, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said some events might have to be postponed, or even cancelled.

Me, I'm not sure there is any reason to worry about the air during next year's Olympics. China is masterful at controlling whatever it wants to, and the air is no exception. It was noteworthy that during the grand one-year countdown ceremony in Tiananmen Square in August, award-winning pianist Lang Lang and others were able to perform outside under a crystal-clear night sky.

The same occurred during this month's "Big 17" -- the 17th Communist Party of China National Congress -- when the skies were blue and stars were out at night. It's clear (no pun intended) that the government can ensure the air is clean when it wants to (the unique advantage of a Communist country is it can order all factories to close whenever it chooses), and I'm willing to bet the skies are blue above Beijing from next year's opening ceremony until the last Olympic visitor flies out of Beijing's new Capital Airport.

But what does this mean for Beijing residents? Unfortunately, not much.

The government is ready to suffer some economic losses by restricting car use or closing factories when VIPs are in town or national "face" must be gained. But for regular Beijing residents, well, the government seems to let the rest of us suffer. The day after the Big 17 ended, it was difficult to see more than a block or two thanks to the thick particulates in the air, leading one Internet poster to write: "OK, fun's over -- turn the factories back on."

The United Nations says Beijing's small-particulate matter is eight times World Health Organization standards -- a nice thought when going for a morning jog. (In fact, many trainers advise people not to exercise outdoors due to the air quality.) Because of the problem, some Olympic committees have already announced that their athletes will be based in nearby South Korea or Macao and flown in the day before their events.

I have no doubt that next year's Games will be a roaring success with beautiful, clear blue skies. But a two-week Olympic Games can't mask the real problem: Beijing's pollution is bad, and it's not getting any better.