IOC wants contingency plans to fight Beijing pollution - AFP

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

IOC wants contingency plans to fight Beijing pollution

by Charles Whelan
2 hours, 37 minutes ago

BEIJING (AFP) - The International Olympic Committee wants organisers
of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to introduce contingency plans as early as
this year to fight pollution, a top IOC official said Thursday.
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Air quality problems on a scale unforeseen when Beijing was awarded the
right to host the 2008 Games nearly six years ago present a risk to
athletic performance at the 2008 Games, IOC Coordination Commission
chief Hein Verbruggen indicated.

"We have asked that the contingency plans, the effects of those plans,
will be calculated so that we know that it is enough to guarantee that
the quality of the air will allow the athletics performances that we
expect to happen here next year," he said.

-snip-

The Beijing government poured 12.3 billion dollars into pollution control
in a bid to honour its pledge to stage an environmentally friendly Games.

However, despite progress on improving air quality, China's massive
economic development has aggravated the problem by throwing up even
more dust and pollution.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070419/sc_afp/oly2008chnpollution_070419170911