Beijing 2008: Gold Medal for Hacking and Coughing | Air America Radio

Beijing 2008: Gold Medal for Hacking and Coughing Air America Radio:

"The World Health Organization’s Dr. Michal Krzyzanowski told the BBC that due
to the cities in China’s poor air quality, people attending the 2008 Olympic
Games could face serious health problems, such as severe asthma attacks. Dr.
Michal Krzyzanowski told the BBC that “All of the cities are pretty highly
polluted by European standards, but even by the standards of Asia, Chinese
cities are pretty highly polluted. The main problem in Chinese cities is air
pollution, small particles which are suspended in the air and penetrate deep
into the lungs.”"

If China is not going to face the bad publicity of athletes either passing out from the pollution or being unable to compete due to sickness, it is going to have to take strong measures. It has been testing the effect of taking hundreds of thousands of cars off the road. During the games a similar ban may be put into effect to clear the air.