A Mist Opportunity at the Olympics

Quote of the Week: The winner, despite intense competition, is senior International Olympic Committee official Arne Ljungqvist, who said the deadly air pollution in Beijing is "mist," not a "major risk" and blamed the media for hyping the non-problem.

"The mist in the air that we see . . . is not a feature of pollution primarily, but a feature of evaporation and humidity," Ljungqvist, chairman of the IOC's medical commission, told reporters Tuesday. "We do have a communication problem here," he added, which was the "exaggeration of the problem that has been seen in the media."

We apologize. It turns out the local readings for pollution that day were only 91, a whopping nine points below the level considered harmful to sensitive groups, such as children and the elderly. Yesterday, the Associated Press reported a reading of only 96 for Beijing, still under the key threshold, although anything over 50 is moderate pollution.

The worst pollutant, tiny dust particles -- they doubtless mix very nicely with that mist -- were at 373, more than seven times what the World Health Organization considers the level for healthy air.

What about all those athletes who are wearing face masks to protect from contaminants, and the talk about moving or re-scheduling events -- marathons, for example -- if the air gets worse?

"I would not discourage athletes from wearing" masks, Ljungqvist said, "but I do not think it is necessary. . . . I would not wear one whether I was an athlete or not."

So that scary pea-soup gray haze is no big deal? Those brown clouds you fly over as you leave the city -- they don't turn white for at least an hour or so -- are not a concern? The State Department's guidance that "respiratory and heart diseases related to air pollution are the leading cause of death in China" is not a problem?

Only if you live there, Ljungqvist said. That's the key. "Temporary visitors" should not worry about "long-term effects," he said.

Maybe a little eye irritation, wheezing, maybe trouble seeing the soccer ball coming at you, that's all. If you stay too long, you may get that scary hacking cough you hear among folks at the U.S. Embassy, so just make sure you're gone when the Games end in a couple weeks.

Don't want to stay too long in the workers' paradise.

Great Expectations

Runner-Up Quote of the Week:

"I did not expect this indictment," Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) told the Ketchikan Daily News on Tuesday. "This is an indictment for failure to disclose gifts that are controversial in terms of whether they were or were not gifts. It's not bribery; it's not some corruption; it's not some extreme felony."