The Smog Blog: Will Smog Blanket the Beijing Summer Olympics?

In recent weeks, much attention has been focused on the air quality in Beijing, China and its potential impact on athletes and even spectators.  Chinese officials have closed factories, shut down construction sites, and are limiting traffic in an effort to clear the air for opening day on August 8. It remains to be seen if these measures will be effective in controlling the smog.

This is not the first time that air quality has been a major issue for the summer games.  Prior efforts to clear the air for the Olympic athletes have created a unique opportunity to study the effect of reductions in air pollution on children's health.  These so-called "intervention studies" have helped document the health benefits of air pollution clean-up measures.  

During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, a concerted effort was made to lower traffic congestion to enable spectators to get to the games.  Public transit was enhanced, the downtown was closed to private cars, and businesses were encouraged to promote telecommuting and alternative work hours.  As a result, there were large and significant decreases in ozone concentrations, and somewhat lesser reductions in carbon monoxide and PM10 concentrations.

During this period, researchers found significant reductions in the numbers of urgent care visits, emergency care visits, and hospitalizations for asthma among children ages 1 -16 years.

According to Dr. Michael S. Friedman of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and coauthors of the study, "Our finding suggest that efforts to decrease ozone and PM10 concentrations from moderate to low levels can decrease the burden of asthma."

Friedman, M.S., Powell, K.E., Hutwagner, L., Graham, L.M., and Teague, W.G. Impact of Changes in Transportation and Commuting Behaviors During the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta on Air Quality and Childhood Asthma. Journal of the American Medical Association 2001;  285: 897-905.  The American Medical Association offers the article online. 

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