U.S. cyclists wear masks upon arrival in Beijing

Some American cyclists were wearing black masks when they arrived today at the airport in Beijing.

"I suspect it was their choice, you would have to talk to them as to what prompted them to do this," Darryl Seibel, a spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee tells Reuters. "I will say this: I am not a scientist, but in my view that was unnecessary."

The level of pollutants in the air was particularly bad yesterday. Right now, Beijing is "shrouded in a light gray haze," according to the Associated Press.

Q1x00249_9 The International Olympic Committee will receive hourly updates about air pollution when the games begin Aug. 8, but one official says he's "confident the air quality will not prove to pose major problems."

Arne Ljungqvist, head of the IOC medical commission, tells AP that public perceptions are part of the problem.

"The mist in the air that we see in those places, including here, is not a feature of pollution primarily but a feature of evaporation and humidity," Ljungqvist said. "We do have a communication problem here. Once the misconception has become sort of established in the minds of people, it's not that easy to get the right message through."