VMC Checks Out Olympic Air Quality

Having heard all the media hype and speculation regarding the air quality in Beijing, VMC sent its roving medical director to China to check it out personally and the results were astonishing …

Popular reports have claimed that our Australian athletes would be facing serious health hazards merely by breathing the air in China. Likewise, we’ve heard news of the drastic measures taken by the Chinese government to improve air quality in Beijing. This has included halving the number of cars on the streets, number plates ending with odd numbers one day and even numbers the next, and reducing the activity of a number of factories.

Dr Dean asked "Would it be possible for me to evaluate this situation in an unbiased way given the extensive coverage that I had been subjected to prior to my visit?"

At this time of year, China is hot and humid. As such, a number of cities are afflicted by heat haze.

Dr Andrew Dean, medical oncologist and medical director of the Virtual Medical Centre reports:

The day I arrived in Beijing, the Thursday before the Olympics, there was a tropical rainstorm that I have never seen before. Heavy rainstorms are notorious for washing out hidden rubbish and particularly dumping debris into streets and gutters.

What I found was the cleanest capital city that I can remember visiting. There was significant heat haze present before and after the rainstorm which the uneducated refer to as smog. Just to confirm this, I analysed the online reports about Beijing air quality from a number of sources and found them quoting ‘thick smog blankets Beijing’ etc.

The reality was a very low air pollution index of 39 ppm. The EU calls pollution index safe if it’s below 50 parts per million, 26-50ppm is fair for Canada and the USA has deemed anything below 100ppm is safe.¹ Australia rates anything under 66 ppm safe.² I saw no evidence of any widespread respiratory problems.

What I did see was televised news reports of American athletes arriving at Beijing airports wearing facial masks, denouncing the ‘smog’. The ludicrous nature of this situation is clearly evident. The air quality, tested scientifically, was better than good and certainly better than the air quality in Los Angeles for instance. The flimsy masks (which were also popular at the time of the SARS epidemic) provide absolutely no protection against droplet or particle inhalation. Why then such a ridiculous and childish charade?

The perception in China is that this is yet another example of "China-bashing". I think the Chinese perception is correct. The three cities that I visited (only one of them an Olympic city just in case people say that the results were because of a special effort) had a high number of solar heating panels and likewise a large number of wind generators. What I see is a much better attempt to protect the environment than USA, UK or indeed Australia. Did you know that China has one of the most stringent car emission programs in the world?

The conclusion of my report:

• – our athletes are safe;
• – Beijing air quality is excellent;
• – China has an advanced environment protection program; and
• – US athletes will need to find a better excuse for poor performance.

^{1. AirNow Air Quality Index [online]. 2008 [cited 2008 Aug 08]. Available from: URL: http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibroch.aqi%23aqioz}

^{2. Department of Environment and Climate Change [online]. 2008 [cited 2008 Aug 08]. Available from: URL: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/aqms/aqi.htm}