Rio’s polluted waters will be safe — IOC

Rio de Janeiro, August 24 (IANS): Sailing’s world governing body could shift Rio 2016 Olympic events out of Guanabara Bay due to pollution, organisers said.

Such a move would be an embarrassment to local organizers and the worldwide Olympic Committee. Rubbish flowed into the bay despite little rain in Rio in recent weeks.

“How he got it we still dont know…

Per a July study conducted by the Associated Press (via the Guardian), the quality of the water “revealed dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria from human sewage in Olympic and Paralympic venues…”

The IOC has declined to endorse testing for viruses, which can cause stomach and respiratory ailments that could knock an athlete out of competition.

Huge amounts of raw sewage from the Rio urban area now pour into the bay, along with floating garbage, discarded furniture, dead animals and other debris.

However, the airlines said they had called on Olympic organizers to base filming of the sailing on Sugarloaf Mountain, or to time any helicopter flights in close coordination with scheduled airliner flights. The (sort of) good news, the AP says, is that the U.S. team was the only worldwide squad at the competition that suffered from unusual levels of sickness.

But the postcard-perfect backdrop of the bay has been overshadowed by pollution concerns.

The events were initially moved to another course, Niteroi. “And certainly closing down all the sewage outlets”.

He said the doubling of capacity at the Alegria plant, which now only operates at 50 percent capacity, and the entering into service of a so-called River Treatment Unit over the heavily contaminated Iraja River in the coming months would help boost treatment even higher.

“I think everyone will find the conditions pretty hard”, Decnop said. “We’re all anxious about it”.

“IOC and ISAF must consider how the safety issue will be improved for the next year“, he added.

“We said no. But it’s not us who decides”, said Fina’s executive director, Cornel Marculescu.

Noted virologist Fernando Spilki, planner of environmentally friendly quality plan started in Goal and done the AP evaluation of water at Feevale University in Brazil.