On the Scene -- Beijing Says "Very Easy" to Guarantee Clean Air for Games

(ATR) Despite smoggy haze most of the week in Beijing, an official responsible for air quality for the Olympic city says the air is of good quality with less than two weeks to the Olympics.

BOCOG is so eager to prove that Beijing’s air will be clean come Games time, Saturday’s daily press briefing was dedicated to the subject.

Du Shaozhong, Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Environmental Bureau said that there was nothing for athletes to worry about with regards to Beijing’s air quality, although he admitted there is "room for further improvement".

Citing relative improvements in the air quality since last year to prove his point, Du said that there have been more days with clean air in 2008 than in 2007. Beijing is "up to standard 70 percent of the time" Du said.

The brown skies and the breathing difficulties some people are experiencing can all be attributed to increased levels of water vapor, according to BOCOG. In a press release, BOCOG said the ugly sky in Beijing is "due to the larger than normal water vapor content" and added that more rain would help to cleanse the sky of pollution.

"We can guarantee the air quality during the Games" Du said. He added that clean air is "completely guaranteed". The IOC’s Medical Commission backs up this claim Du said.

To make such a guarantee is "very easy" according to Du. The "comprehensive plan" to meet this guarantee is already partly in place with restricting the number of cars on the road and temporarily shutting down factories belching out large amounts of pollutants.

"It’s a very simple issue" Du asserted.

"Substandard days are spread throughout the year."

Autumn and summer offer days with better chances of "dispersal" of dust and pollutants Du said, making it more likely to have clean air during the Summer Olympics.

Du said that the environmental ministry sent out pamphlets to vehicle owners that will allow them "to calculate pollution" created by their cars.

Du insisted that any anecdotal evidence of poor visibility and what appeared to be pollution in "a couple photos" or difficulty breathing while walking outside is not scientific evidence and shouldn’t be considered when evaluating the quality of Beijing air.

"It does not represent the essence of air quality" Du said. "The very essence of air quality should be counted be data, collected in the monitoring process and not photos. That’s a very important issue".

Members of the foreign press corps responded to the explanations with some guffaws during the Saturday briefing and one U.S. journalist walked out midway, unhappy with the explanations he had heard.

With reporting from Ed Hula III in Beijing.