Olympic Teams Prepare for the Dirty Air in Beijing

Chinese workers at an Olympic construction site in Beijing. Many nations' teams are taking extraordinary steps to lessen the effects of pollution. (By Oded Balilty -- Associated Press)

Martin, a professor emeritus of respiratory therapy at Georgia State University's School of Health and Human Sciences and author of "The Olympic Marathon," said the U.S. track and field team has been testing various types of face masks. Wearing the masks would slow down runners, he said, but "if they run without masks and the pollution coats the inside of their lungs, they will have the situation of a coal miner."

British athletes, most of whom will be based in the southern city of Macau before the Olympics, have been given information about "specific diets and antioxidants to battle pollution in Beijing," said Miriam Wilkens, a spokeswoman for the British Olympic Association.

Charles van Commenee, technical director for the Dutch National Olympic Committee, said the Netherlands, which has decided to base most of its athletes in South Korea, said acclimating to the pollution rather than avoiding it might be the answer. Athletes have been told to arrive in Beijing at least five days before their events. "Human bodies can get used to it," he said.

A secondary concern for the Olympic teams is the safety of food in Beijing. Last year's recalls of pesticide-laden fish, carcinogenic candy and other Chinese food products have made some athletes uneasy.

To forestall any problems, the Olympic Village has installed a system to monitor the food and will test for contaminants. But some staff members said they are discouraging athletes from eating at outside restaurants.

Medical advisers have expressed particular concern about Chinese meat, which in the past has been found to contain banned drugs such as anabolic steroids. They fear that an athlete who consumed that meat could fail a drug test and be disqualified.

Cai Tongyi, an Olympic Food Safety Committee member and a professor of food sciences at China Agricultural University, said athletes should not worry. "We will control the problem from the area of animal feed to block its source," he said.

At the other extreme are countries that brush off concerns about China's air and food -- Ethiopia, for example. Ethiopia won seven track and field medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and its Olympic officials said they are not doing anything different to prepare for Beijing.

Dube Jillo, technical director for Ethiopia's Olympic committee, said he has been to Beijing several times for marathons. "I don't know why some other teams are worried," he said. "I think the air in Beijing is very good."

The star of Ethiopia's track team apparently doesn't agree. Haile Gebreselassie, who has won two gold medals in the 10,000 meters and holds the world record in the marathon, may not run in the Olympic marathon. In an interview with the Associated Press, the runner's manager, Jos Hermens, said: "What he says is: 'Great if I win, but if it means the end of my career, then I really don't feel like it.' "

Researchers Wu Meng in Shanghai, Stella Kim in Seoul and Akiko Yamamoto in Tokyo contributed to this report.