Pollution Becoming Olympic-Sized Concern
Scioto
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in Sports Talk
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 10:29 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By STEPHEN WADE
OSAKA, Japan (AP) — Athletes will have a tricky choice next year if Beijing's polluted air doesn't improve in time for the Olympics: stay away as long as possible, or come in early and get used to it.
"We know how to train for heat and humidity, but not a lot of research has been done on running in the polluted atmosphere we think we'll find in Beijing," Kyle O'Brien, an American marathoner who ran at the track and field world championship in Osaka, said Tuesday.
Therein, lies the problem.
Air pollution levels in China's capital are nearly five times higher than the World Health Organization's recommended safety level. A mix of major pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter are common. Sulfate and carbon also float regularly in the air.
It's not that officials haven't noticed.
China is spending billions to close dirty factories and build new subways, and in an experiment for the Olympics, the city earlier this month pulled 1 million private vehicles a day off the streets. The congestion eased, but a gray haze remained.
Sounding an alarm recently, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge warned that choking smog might force some endurance events to be postponed.
During this week's world championships in Japan, the stifling heat regularly has hit the mid-90s with humidity in the 60 to 70 percent range.
Add the mix of pollutants Beijing might offer, and athletes, particularly those in the endurance events, foresee problems.
Like O'Brien, teammate Mike Morgan ran Saturday in Osaka, and he, too, was about 10 minutes off his personal best.
"The heat and humidity knock you out, and you have to adjust for it," he said. "I assume pollution will have more of the same effect, and Beijing is going to be a different story with the city surrounded by pollution."
Some research suggests training at altitude might offer an edge, building endurance which might help counteract the effects of pollution.
Perhaps, but others are concerned the dirty air might cost them a legitimate shot at a medal.
"It is difficult for a distance runner to compete there," said Tirunesh Dibaba, who won her second straight 10,000-meter world title in Osaka. "It could possibly affect me. I might even consider running just one event because of the pollution."
How to train for Beijing certainly will get more discussion in the coming months. For now, it's mostly speculation or guesswork.
Some teams have promised to stay away until the last moment. The most prominent so far is Australia, which is planning to send a medical staff of 80 to deal with heat, humidity and pollution, about one for every six athletes.
"It will be hot and humid and the pollution is high," said Dr. Juan Manuel Alonso, chairman of the IAAF medical and anti-doping commission. "It wouldn't be good to compete in that, but I'm confident the air quality will be fine."
Obviously, endurance athletes take in more air and feel the most threatened, but even sprinters are worried.
David Gillick, the Irish 400-meter record holder, said he'd stay away as long as possible at a camp Ireland plans to set up in Japan.
"There's no scientific proof if you go in and spend two weeks there it will be beneficial," he said. "Or maybe it will work against us. Will we get sick? Will we just keel over with it? I think a lot of people are going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's not going to be ideal, but what do you do?"
"I'd like to stay away," Gillick added. "Just come in two days beforehand and go for it. We're in sprint events. I think it's a different story for endurance athletes."
Masaaki Sugita, an exercise physiologist with Japan's athletics governing body, was in Beijing earlier this month. He said on some days the air was better than expected, but smog and haze still blanketed the city. At one test event he said he saw archers wearing masks.
If there is a solution, Sugita suggests it rests with China.
"The best thing would be for Beijing to make a big, big effort to clean up the air for next year," he said. "We certainly hope for this."
The Associated Press
By STEPHEN WADE
OSAKA, Japan (AP) — Athletes will have a tricky choice next year if Beijing's polluted air doesn't improve in time for the Olympics: stay away as long as possible, or come in early and get used to it.
"We know how to train for heat and humidity, but not a lot of research has been done on running in the polluted atmosphere we think we'll find in Beijing," Kyle O'Brien, an American marathoner who ran at the track and field world championship in Osaka, said Tuesday.
Therein, lies the problem.
Air pollution levels in China's capital are nearly five times higher than the World Health Organization's recommended safety level. A mix of major pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter are common. Sulfate and carbon also float regularly in the air.
It's not that officials haven't noticed.
China is spending billions to close dirty factories and build new subways, and in an experiment for the Olympics, the city earlier this month pulled 1 million private vehicles a day off the streets. The congestion eased, but a gray haze remained.
Sounding an alarm recently, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge warned that choking smog might force some endurance events to be postponed.
During this week's world championships in Japan, the stifling heat regularly has hit the mid-90s with humidity in the 60 to 70 percent range.
Add the mix of pollutants Beijing might offer, and athletes, particularly those in the endurance events, foresee problems.
Like O'Brien, teammate Mike Morgan ran Saturday in Osaka, and he, too, was about 10 minutes off his personal best.
"The heat and humidity knock you out, and you have to adjust for it," he said. "I assume pollution will have more of the same effect, and Beijing is going to be a different story with the city surrounded by pollution."
Some research suggests training at altitude might offer an edge, building endurance which might help counteract the effects of pollution.
Perhaps, but others are concerned the dirty air might cost them a legitimate shot at a medal.
"It is difficult for a distance runner to compete there," said Tirunesh Dibaba, who won her second straight 10,000-meter world title in Osaka. "It could possibly affect me. I might even consider running just one event because of the pollution."
How to train for Beijing certainly will get more discussion in the coming months. For now, it's mostly speculation or guesswork.
Some teams have promised to stay away until the last moment. The most prominent so far is Australia, which is planning to send a medical staff of 80 to deal with heat, humidity and pollution, about one for every six athletes.
"It will be hot and humid and the pollution is high," said Dr. Juan Manuel Alonso, chairman of the IAAF medical and anti-doping commission. "It wouldn't be good to compete in that, but I'm confident the air quality will be fine."
Obviously, endurance athletes take in more air and feel the most threatened, but even sprinters are worried.
David Gillick, the Irish 400-meter record holder, said he'd stay away as long as possible at a camp Ireland plans to set up in Japan.
"There's no scientific proof if you go in and spend two weeks there it will be beneficial," he said. "Or maybe it will work against us. Will we get sick? Will we just keel over with it? I think a lot of people are going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's not going to be ideal, but what do you do?"
"I'd like to stay away," Gillick added. "Just come in two days beforehand and go for it. We're in sprint events. I think it's a different story for endurance athletes."
Masaaki Sugita, an exercise physiologist with Japan's athletics governing body, was in Beijing earlier this month. He said on some days the air was better than expected, but smog and haze still blanketed the city. At one test event he said he saw archers wearing masks.
If there is a solution, Sugita suggests it rests with China.
"The best thing would be for Beijing to make a big, big effort to clean up the air for next year," he said. "We certainly hope for this."
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or is this a situation that has become a severe situation only in the years since the decision was made?
<< <i>Air pollution is nothing new in this part of the world. Cooking fires, growing industry and electric demands, untreated stack emissions and auto exhaust have made pollution a very visible problem. But according to the U.N. and the Eco-Nazis it's the rich Northern hemisphere countries that are the problem.
I thing a lot of that pollution comes from making all the products we buy. Some of the responsibility lies with end customer.
<< <i>I thing a lot of that pollution comes from making all the products we buy. Some of the responsibility lies with end customer. >>
bigdcards - I need some clarification, please?
How much is "a lot"?
Can you provide some data about pollution for export vs pollution for domestic use? A sort of Polly Pockets vs home cooking, housing, dams, roads and bridges, skyscrapers, oil and gas exploration, refining, manufacturering, military, agriculture, power production, technology comparison? Oh, yeah, not just for China but the entire region including Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka etc?
Who is "we"? The rest of the World?
Thanks!
but its cheap; and it feeds this countries low low prices mentality. Ultimately we are paying the price with recalls, toxic toys and toxic air.
Folks should demand better quality and be willing to pay for stuff built here in America, with our endless supply of cheap immigrant workers. No need to outsource to India; we already have a cheap labor supply here. : )
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<< <i>What i dont get is why all the flank about the US (Clinton and Bush) not agreeing to the Koyoto Protocol. To me it was a no brainer to not sign on, if India and China wouldnt have to face the same regulations as the rest of the world. >>
Because according to the UN and the eco-nazis the U.S. is supposed to puts it's balls on the table and let every little 3rd world wide spot on the map take a shot while the real problems stand in the crowd and laugh.
<< <i>we buy a lot of crap from CHINA. more than a lot. they produce loads of pollution and send us cheap, substandard pet food, toys, produce, grains etc. yummy.
but its cheap; and it feeds this countries low low prices mentality. Ultimately we are paying the price with recalls, toxic toys and toxic air.
Folks should demand better quality and be willing to pay for stuff built here in America, with our endless supply of cheap immigrant workers. No need to outsource to India; we already have a cheap labor supply here. : ) >>
Even the cheap immigrant labor here is not cheap enough compared to places like China so the companies vote with their bottom
line and build things outside the US.
line and build things outside the US.
Agree 100%. Most major corporations now outsource much of their work to so-called developing nations at the expense of the American middle class. It's a vicious cycle, because we all want the lowest possible prices for our goods and services, but in order for corporations to offer those prices and report the same profits to their shareholders, the work and labor is outsourced to these other countries. No wonder Sunjeet aka Sam is answering your call when you contact customer service. He's taking the position and job once held by a guy right here in the U.S.
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Now the minimum wage is being raised which will mean more outsourcing of jobs overseas. Some politicians, and lawyers, and Unions will probably never understand that jobs aren't a right - jobs are created by businesses either through corporations or the self-employed to fulfill a need in the business marketplace. Establishing artificial barrriers in the marketplace in theory can work well in certain circumstances, but it usually spirals out of control eventually.
Of course in the earlier part of last century, Unions were needed because of worker exploitation by many corporations, but then it got to the point whereby the Union salary demands were worth more than the corporate profits from the job, hence the job dissappears, or maybe the price of an item such as an automobile rises too high compared to foreign competition and people stop buying the product. Or to stay competitive, the domestic manufacturer cheapens the quality of the product compared to what a foreign corporation can offer for about the same price - anyone who bought GM cars in the 80's and 90's knows what I'm talking about...these cars were garbage compared to foreign cars and yet sold at about the same prices.
Fortunately in certain industries, the US still has a technological advantage over competition such as computers, aircraft, and a host of other industries - if that technological advantage ever becomes equal in the marketplace, with the cost of overseas labor being so much less expensive, this country will suffer a continuous long term recession the likes of which has never been seen before. Real estate values will decline, and eventually the cost of labor in the US will have to decrease unless we all want to windup being employed by foreign corporations that will take over the US marketplace and send the profits back overseas.
Want it to get worse? Elect Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama and it will definitely get worse.