‘What you have there is basically raw sewage’: Water venues for Rio 2016 Olympics co
‘What you have there is basically raw sewage’: Water venues for Rio 2016 Olympics contain dangerous levels of viruses, bacteria from human fecesWhile the Olympic Committee selected Beijing to host 2022 Winter Games after a surprisingly close vote, athletes in next year’s Summer Olympics in Rio will be swimming and boating in waters so contaminated with human feces that they risk becoming violently ill and unable to compete in the games, an Associated Press investigation has found.An AP analysis of water quality revealed dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria from human sewage in Olympic and Paralympic venues — results that alarmed international experts and dismayed competitors training in Rio, some of whom have already fallen ill with fevers, vomiting and diarrhea.Brazilian officials have assured that the water will be safe for the Olympic athletes and the medical director of the International Olympic Committee said all was on track for providing safe competing venues - though, this AP study and progress suggests otherwise.Extreme water pollution is common in Brazil, where the majority of sewage is not treated. Raw waste runs through open-air ditches to streams and rivers that feed the Olympic water sites. As a result, Olympic athletes are almost certain to come into contact with disease-causing viruses that in some tests measured up to 1.7 million times the level of what would be considered hazardous on a Southern California beach.PHOTOS: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, Felipe Dana, Matthew Stockman/Getty Images -- source link
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