Shocking pictures of what athletes will have to swim in in Rio
Shocking new images of dirty waters in Rio de Janeiro have caused even more fears among Olympic athletes who are not advised to dive. There will be triathlon, sailing and several swimming competitions in Guanabara Bay. It was there last week that a corpse surfaced and someone's severed hand was found. According to research, the level of biological contamination in the bay is 1.7 million times higher than the dangerous values for the United States and Europe.
(17 photos in total)
Just a few days before the opening of the Summer Olympic Games, the reservoirs of Rio de Janeiro are as dirty as before, human sewage and dangerous viruses and bacteria are floating in them, according to a study that lasted 16 months. In some places, the layer of garbage is so thick that the water is simply not visible, and rats settle on disgusting waste, like on floating islands.
Seriously ill risk not only about 1400 athletes who will take part in competitions in water sports, but also tourists on the golden beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. Analyses of water bodies for the Olympic and Paralympic competitions in Rio de Janeiro showed significant and dangerous levels of viruses due to environmental pollution. This has caused serious concern to sailing athletes, rowers and open water swimmers.
With such a concentration of dangerous substances and bacteria, swimmers and athletes who get only three teaspoons of this water into their bodies will almost certainly become infected with viruses that cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system, and can also cause inflammation in the heart and brain, although the likelihood of getting sick will largely depend on individual characteristics, including the number depends on the level of immunity.
Since the publication of the first test results in July last year, athletes have taken intricate precautions to prevent diseases that could put them out of action at competitions. We are talking about preventive antibiotics, disinfection of paddles and wearing plastic suits and gloves to avoid contact with water. But antibiotics don't work on viruses. According to the analyses, dangerous adenovirus was detected in about 90% of the places tested for 16 months.
But what about the 300-500 thousand tourists who are expected to come to the Olympics? Analyses on several world-famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro have shown that, in addition to the constantly high level of viral infection, there is a high level of bacterial infection, which would cause serious concern abroad, and does not meet local biosafety standards either. Therefore, it is definitely better not to dive under water here.
Danger awaits even in the sand. Samples taken on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema showed a high level of infection with viruses, especially dangerous for children. Dr. Fernando Spilki, a virologist and manager of the molecular microbiology laboratory at the University of Feevale in Brazil, which is responsible for testing the water, says that the study did not show significant improvements in the condition of the water in Rio, despite promises to clean it for many decades.
"Unfortunately, during all this time we have seen only minor changes in the level of infection, but this is more likely due to climatic conditions, and not due to any measures taken to clean up this pollution," says Spilki.
The most polluted places are the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, where the Olympic rowing competitions will be held, as well as Marina da Gloria, the launch pad for sailing competitions. In March 2015, samples taken in the lagoon showed 1.73 billion units of adenovirus in one liter of water. In June of this year, the adenovirus content was lower, but it's still a shocking 248 million units per liter. For comparison, in California, if a liter contains several thousand units of adenovirus, this is already a reason to sound the alarm.
Despite the project that was aimed at preventing sewage from entering Marina da Gloria through rain drains, the water is still very dirty. The first tests in March 2015 showed more than 26 million units of adenovirus per liter, and in June of this year — more than 37 million units per liter.
Local authorities, including Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, acknowledged the ineffectiveness of the city's water purification efforts, calling it a "missed chance" and a "disgrace." Olympic officials still demand that Rio's reservoirs be safe for athletes and tourists. The local organizing committee does not comment on the situation, although it previously stated that bacteriological analyses conducted by the Rio authorities showed that the reservoirs meet state standards. The problem is in different approaches to research to determine the safety of waters suitable for recreation and sports.
Bacteriological tests measure the level of intestinal bacteria, which usually do not cause diseases by themselves, but are indicators of the presence of other potentially dangerous pathogens carried with sewage, including other bacteria, viruses and unicellular organisms that cause cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and other serious diseases. Bacteriological studies are a global standard because they are cheap and easy to carry out. But more and more experts agree that they are not ideal for all types of climate, because bacteria multiply very quickly in the tropics and salty sea water. Viruses can survive for weeks, months, and even years, which means that the low levels of bacteria in the water in Rio may not correspond at all to potentially high levels of viral infection.
The sewage problem that has existed in Rio de Janeiro for several centuries and inherited from the colonialists has intensified in recent decades, as has the influx of rural population into the city, which has almost doubled since the 1970s. Even in affluent areas, wastewater treatment has fallen hopelessly behind, and even on the popular beaches of Ipanema and Leblon, you can often see black "tongues" of fetid water with sewage. Lagoons in the fast-growing area of Barra da Tijuca are so overflowing with waste dumped by residents of nearby glass and metal towers that huge garbage islands appear out of the water at low tide. In the lagoon system that encircles the Olympic Park and the Olympic village, there is a mass pestilence of fish due to pollution, and the water exudes a strong sulfuric smell that makes your eyes water.
Promises to clean up the water systems of Rio de Janeiro have been going on for many decades, and several rulers have already set exact dates when the waters will be cleaned, and constantly pushed them back. In the 2009 Olympic bid, the authorities promised that the Olympics would revive the wonderful reservoirs of Rio. One of the most important contributions of the Olympic Games was to be a billion-dollar contribution to water purification programs. But all this remained only promises.
A month before the Games, biologist Mario Moscatelli spent more than two hours flying over Rio by helicopter, as he has done every month for the past 20 years. From a height, the problem of Rio is very clearly visible: the rivers are coal-black, the lagoons around the Olympic Park bloom with phosphorescent green algae that do not care about sewage, wooden fishermen's boats sink in thick mud in Guanabara Bay, surfers row away from a huge brown spot that contrasts vividly with the turquoise of the surrounding waters. "Decades have passed, but I don't see any improvement," complains Moscatelli, an activist advocating for the purification of Rio's waters. "Guanabara Bay has turned into a urinal... and, unfortunately, Rio de Janeiro has missed an opportunity, maybe the last big opportunity to clean it."
On Saturday, a pier for athletes sailing collapsed into dirty waters. It will have to be repaired before August 8, because a large number of teams will be leaving for a short time. The International Olympic Committee has firmly promised that the pier will be repaired before the start of the sailing races, and now 25 people are working on its repair.
Keywords: Bacteria | Brazil | Viruses | Reservoir | Pollution | Olympics | Olympic games | Rio de janeiro