Olympic efforts to reduce air pollutants

As attention turns to Brazil and we prepare for Rio de Janeiro to host the Olympic Games, many things spring to mind – one, perhaps unexpected topic for some, is pollution.

Much has been said about the quality of the water in Rio. In the lead up to this year’s games, there have been concerns expressed by many athletes, competing countries, and indeed the public about how these issues may affect the running of the games and performances in the water-based events.

Concerns over water pollution, political unrest, and the Zika virus have somewhat overshadowed similar worries over air quality – an all too familiar problem.

In 2012, when the games came to London, we saw a brief reprieve – while the UK’s capital has its own air quality issues, they are not on the same scale as Rio’s. Yet, the new London Mayor is now helping ClientEarth sue the UK government in a high court case for its failure to address the air pollution crisis in the capital.

Still, for the 2016 games, much like those eight years ago in Beijing, air pollution in Brazil is very much a hot topic. The larger urban areas of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasilia also suffer from substantial ozone issues with both acetaldehyde and nitrogen oxides being significant contributors to photochemical air pollution and ozone formation. It is estimated that air pollution will kill 165,000 people in Rio and São Paulo by 2045 [link].

By way of an example, the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro records an index of 64 micrograms/m³ of inhalable particulate matter (the maximum acceptable level set by WHO is 20 micrograms). With an estimated 40% of fuel used in Brazilian vehicles sourced from ethanol – more than anywhere else in the world – air pollution in Brazil differs from that of other nations where predominately petroleum or natural gas-based fuels are used.

Do we expect a “repeat” of the Beijing Games?

Much was made of Beijing’s hosting of the games. The city put on a fantastic show, and saw Usain Bolt win his first Olympic gold medal (and quickly follow up with a second), but the build up to the event saw the city criticized for its environmental record and how this could impact the event.

Athletes famously pulled out of some endurance events at the Chinese games due to concerns over how poor air quality would affect not just their performances, but their health in the longer-term – fearing a repeat of the famous 1984 LA games, when British athlete Steve Ovett collapsed over the line to take fourth place in the men’s 800m.

That said, Beijing did receive praise for the efforts it undertook, which included shutting down and relocating factories and barring 300,000 heavily polluting vehicles and 1.7 million private cars from the roads, among other measures.

However, this praise was relatively short-lived. These temporary measures were clearly one-off ‘solutions’ to much more chronic problems, with 60% of Beijing’s air quality improvement during the games coming undone within a year.

Brazil and Rio made similar assurances when they submitted their bid to host the games, and their Sustainability Management Plan outlined some of the ways this was expected to be delivered. With plans to use cleaner fuel in public transport, they were able to double the city’s network of bike lanes and launched four exclusive new transport corridors for their Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

But the question remains – is Brazil doing enough?

Significant progress has been made with environmental technologies in recent years with many new innovations allowing us to tackle issues like air pollution head on.

It is easier to generate cleaner energy than ever before, it is easier to operate businesses more sustainably, and it is easier to take action to reduce harmful pollutants already in the air.

Rio has built 16 new air quality monitoring stations – in addition to the five existing stations around the city and at significant cost – to carry out constant checks on the levels of pollutants like carbon monoxide in the air.

Expansion of the monitoring network means that if changes in air pollution are detected, the local authorities can make changes to counter and negate this, such as diverting bus routes, temporarily closing nearby fuel stations or altering the operating hours of factories.

But while measures taken look to discourage emissions and monitor pollutant levels, they stop short of using the full range of technologies and services available to organizers.

What more can Brazil do?

There are an array of additional solutions that could be deployed to reduce the negative impact of pollution on the 2016 Olympic Games and alleviate the concerns of those participating, visiting, and even those spectating from afar.

Dust suppression agents can be used to treat dirt roads to reduce particulate matter levels in the air.

Photoactive surface treatments can be used to scrub harmful pollutants such as NOx and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from indoor air, as well as ensuring surfaces are clean of dust and dirt.

Likewise, similar catalytic solutions can be used to reduce pollutant emissions from large goods vehicles, public transport, factories and power generation plants.

Clearly there are some cost implications associated with these additional measures, but given the levels of concern and the size and scale of the Olympic Games, these costs are very small in proportion to overall spending and go a long way to reassuring competitors and addressing their worries.