SICK: Olympic Swimmers Horrified to Learn What’s in Rio Water They’ll Compete In
SICK: Olympic Swimmers Horrified to Learn What’s in Rio Water They’ll Compete In
Athletes competing in this year’s Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are facing some serious health risks.
According to Fox News, the waters in Rio are so contaminated with human feces that it will make it almost impossible for athletes to compete.
Associated Press conducted a water quality test of those waters. The results revealed high levels of viruses and bacteria in Olympic and Paralympic venues.
Some trainees have already fallen ill from swimming in the water.
But Brazilian officials say the water is completely safe. Extreme water pollution is common in Brazil, and thus the government does not feel a need to make the waters safer for competitors from other countries.
John Griffith, a marine biologist at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project and the man who examined the protocols, methodology and results of the AP water tests, said that the water was extremely dangerous.
“What you have there is basically raw sewage,” he said.
“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,” he continued. “Those kinds of things would be shut down immediately if found here.”
But Leonardo Daemon, coordinator of water quality monitoring for the state’s environmental agency, insisted that officials were strictly following Brazilian regulations on water quality and explained how the water tests are based on bacteria levels.
“What would be the standard that should be followed for the quantity of virus? Because the presence or absence of virus in the water … needs to have a standard, a limit,” he said. “You don’t have a standard for the quantity of virus in relation to human health when it comes to contact with water.”
Due to the number of people getting sick from swimming in the waters, perhaps there should be a standard.
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By: Gabrielle Cintorino on July 2, 2016 at 7:30pm
SICK: Olympic Swimmers Horrified to Learn What’s in Rio Water They’ll Compete In
