Beijing Olympics Watch - 40 Athletes Sickened By Filthy A/C; Cancer Now #1 Killer Nationwide

[hatrack]

FIFTEEN months out from the Beijing Olympics, China is wallowing in the toxic by-products of its lightning economic expansion, prompting fears for athletes and tourists who will travel there, as well as the Chinese population. Chronic water and air pollution caused by industrial toxins and pesticides mean cancer has risen to be China's leading killer, accounting for 23 per cent of all deaths, it emerged yesterday.

At the same time, it was revealed that 40 of China's top athletes fell ill because of foul air-conditioning in the country's sports headquarters in January and have been forced to withdraw from competition. Filthy air-conditioning systems have been blamed for outbreaks of disease in hotels and apartment blocks in the capital.

Australia's Olympic committee is about to begin a program of inoculation for athletes who may be involved in the Olympics, and may issue health warnings in co-operation with the Department of Foreign Affairs as the Games draw closer. But the committee denied last night that it had any concerns for the health of athletes and officials, saying Beijing's new Olympic Village would be clean and safe, and that the vaccinations were standard procedure for teams travelling to Asia.

Chinese authorities have promised to crack down on air-conditioning in Olympic hotels and sporting venues after a recent investigation by China's national broadcaster CCTV. It found many air-conditioning systems were rarely cleaned because it was cheaper to risk being inspected and paying the paltry fine, just 800 yuan ($130) in Shanghai, than spend tens of thousands of yuan maintaining the systems. In one case, two tonnes of waste, including dead rats and takeaway food left by construction workers, was collected when the ventilation system of a 19-storey Beijing office building was cleaned recently for the first time since it was built in the early 1990s.

EDIT

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/sport/toxic-soup-on-games-menu/2007/05/21/1179601329867.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I wonder how many nations will back out due to health risks?

[phantom power]

2. I also wonder if this might become one of those symbolic events.

The kind that, for whatever reason, come to represent the seriousness of a problem and raise consciousness, where previous data failed to make an impression.

"Hey, pollution is so bad that our olympic althetes can't even attend a 2-week event without major health risks."

[fed-up]

3. the TOXIC sky IS FALLING :( nt

[Javaman]

4. If was an Olympic athlete I wouldn't compete there unless I had a

respirator.

Beijing is filthy. And if the air pollution doesn't get you, the dust from the giant dust storms will.