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Air quality at the Olympics

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A researcher from Oregon State University will travel to Beijing later this week to gather data that could help Chinese officials cope with the country’s troubled air quality.

‘Hopefully, the research will help the Chinese government to better understand how it can control air quality in large cities,’ said Staci Simonich, an associate professor of chemistry and toxicology.

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China has banned about 300,000 high-emission vehicles from Beijing roads until Sept. 20. Factories, power plants and other emissions sources also are being closed before and during the Games.

While in China, Simonich will focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are created when gas, coal, wood and other carbon-based materials are burned.

Simonich will stand on top of a building at Peking University, which is one of the research institutions involved in the project. She’ll use a pump to suck air into filters that trap hydrocarbons. It will take about a year to analyze the samples.

Some of the pollutants Simonich will be studying can cause cancer, but the professor said that short-term visitors probably won’t be in the country long enough to be affected. But, depending upon air quality during the Games, Simonich said that tourists and athletes could experience temporary respiratory problems caused by particulate matter and ozone.

The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau offers daily updates on air quality.

-- Greg Johnson

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