2016 Rio Olympics: Water Tests Show High Amount of Bacteria, Viruses
Athletes who will be participating in the 2016 Rio Olympic Summer Games may have to deal with contaminated waters.
According to ESPN, The Associated Press conducted an investigation on the waters of Rio and concluded that the water has dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria that could possibly get the athletes sick. The athletes, who are training in Rio, have reportedly fallen ill with fever, diarrhea and vomiting.
With these dangerous levels in the water, it could knock out an athlete for days and can really disturb their training regimen.
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.
The 2016 Summer Olympics, which will be held on Aug. 5-16, 2016, will feature thousands of athletes from across the world. Sailors and rowers are scheduled to participate in the water portion of the games, according to Reuters.
Rio's state government stated they will cut the amount of raw sewage floating in the bay by 80 percent by the time the Games roll around.
Brazilian officials claimed the waters are going to be safe for the Olympic Games, but according to international experts, it will take a a while for the cleanup to be finished. John Griffith, a marine biologist at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, said, "What you have there is basically raw sewage, It's all the water from the toilets and the showers and whatever people put down their sinks, all mixed up, and it's going out into the beach waters."
Brazilians are exposed to the viruses and diseases but build up immunities.
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