Just days ahead of the Olympic Games the waterways of Rio de Janeiro are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with risky viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by The Associated Press.
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The athletes are settled in and getting ready for the summer Olympic Games, and some have already started competing in preliminary rounds.
Just days ahead of the Olympic Games the waterways of Rio de Janeiro are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with risky viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by The Associated Press.
“We believe that hospital sewage goes into municipal sewage and it gets to the Guanabara Bay or to other rivers and it finally gets to the beach”, says Renata Picao, a professor at Rio Federal university.
Plans to revamp Rio’s infrastructure, including massively upgrading its sewage and water-cleaning capabilities, have been dented by the economic downtown that has affected Brazil since the Games were awarded. In an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas, Paes said Rio has many problems, but few relate to the Olympics, and that the water conditions, in particular, have been exaggerated. The investigation found risky levels of viruses from pollution in the beaches and water, so much so that one biomedical expert went so far as to say: “Don’t put your head under water”. The risk of infection even stretches to the golden sands of Ipanema and Copacabana’s beaches, the scientists warned. Bacterial tests are the worldwide standard because they’re cheap and easy.
The study on of the aquatic venues has shown high levels of viruses from the pollution. The first sampling there, in March, 2015, showed over 26 million adenoviruses per liter; this June, over 37 million adenoviruses per liter were detected.
Gold medal sailor Fernando Echavarri says Rio has the dirtiest water he has competed in.
According to a report, Rio’s waters have been found to contain viruses up to 1.7 million times more hazardous than an American beach.
This is not just a warning that is for the Olympics, but also any tourists as well.
“The Guanabara Bay has been transformed into a latrine”, said Moscatelli, an activist who’s the most visible face of the fight to clean up Rio’s waterways.
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Reporter Paul Ryan is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Thursday morning where there’s been plenty of concern leading up to the games.
