The newest report from the Associated Press indicates that the “dangerously dirty” waters off of Rio’s shore are disastrously filled with viruses from human sewage. “You just would not see this”.
Advertisement
The athletes are settled in and getting ready for the summer Olympic Games, and some have already started competing in preliminary rounds.
Untreated sewage and the practice of treating waterways as dumps largely cause the problem. “And the athletes don’t run a risk sailing in Guanabara Bay”.
It turns out the water in Rio de Janeiro may be even more unsafe than previously thought.
Based on tests conducted by the AP and an analysis of the government’s data, Rio has consistently had a PM 10 (because particulate matter has a diameter of 10 microns or less) two to three times the recommended amount of the World Health Organization meaning it will be one of the countries to have the dirtiest air during the Olympic games.
However, the accuracy of bacterial testing is up for debate, with a growing consensus believing that such tests are not suitable to all climates.
But the danger isn’t only present in Rio’s waterways.
At issue is the sewage that is regularly dumped into Rio’s waters, a practice the AP says has been going on for “centuries”. Those promises failed to come to fruition. Samples from the golden beaches at Copacabana and Ipanema revealed high levels of viruses, which recent studies have suggested can pose health risks – particularly to babies and small children.
Samples taken last March showed 26 million adenoviruses per liter of water, but this June the level hit more than 37 million adenoviruses per liter, meaning athletes who took in the equivalent of just three teaspoons of that water would become infected. But still, it had high readings for rotavirus, the main cause of gastroenteritis globally, with 32.7 million rotaviruses per litre.
The testing revealed alarming spikes in fecal coliform levels – the very measure the state government uses to determine the safety of Rio’s recreational waters.
The beaches, according to the AP, even violate Rio’s own standards for clean water; water is considered polluted if it contains 2500 fecal coliforms for every 100ml of water, which amounts to about half a cup.
The beaches even violate Rio state’s own standards, which are much less stringent than those in California, many other USA states and beach-loving countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
Since Rio de Janeiro was awarded the Olympics in 2009, there has been a steady stream of bad news and dark predictions.
Advertisement
Just over a month before the games, biologist Mario Moscatelli spent more than two hours flying over Rio in a helicopter.
