In the ongoing controversy over the safety of the open water venues at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games site in Rio de Janeiro, new testing sheds more light on the extent of the pollution in those waters. A report by The Associated Press shows that Rio de Janeiro’s water offshore is just as infested with dangerous pathogens as they are near land. The waters close to the city have already been shown to be highly contaminated, as raw sewage drains into them from storm drains and other polluted rivers.
Kristina Mena, an associate professor of public health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and expert in waterborne viruses, commented on the water quality to The Associated Press: “Those virus levels are widespread…It’s not just along the shoreline, but it’s elsewhere in the water. Therefore, it’s going to increase the exposure of the people who come into contact with those waters. We’re talking about an extreme environment, where the pollution is so high that exposure is imminent and the chance of infection very likely.”
Mena stressed that this environment was highly dangerous for anyone who would enter contact with the water, stating that: “The levels of viruses are so high in these Brazilian waters that if we saw those levels here in the United States on beaches, officials would likely close those beaches.”
Throughout the past year Swimming World has reported the controversy surrounding the aquatic venues in Rio, including reports from Greenpeace and other media outlets that the waters are unsafe for competition, and this most recent study is sure to add more fuel to the fire. The AP’s most recent tests demonstrate that the pollution is far more widespread than previously believed and that there has been no significant change in water quality since its tests back in July. In Guanabara Bay (nearly a kilometer from shore where the sailing competition will take place) the number of viruses found is the same as those found closer to sewage sources along the shore.
View full post on swimmingworldmagazine
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