Here's What You'll Find in 3 Teaspoons of Rio's Water

A single gulp of ocean water, or roughly three teaspoons, is all it will take for athletes and tourists to contract potentially deadly diseases at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

That’s the consensus of a recent study commissioned by the  Associated Press looking at levels of viruses, bacteria and other microbes in the water of Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay — home of historic Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.

The study, carried out by an unnamed researcher at Brazil’s Feevale University, reported initial results last year, and found viral loads up to 1.7 million times higher than what are considered safe concentrations in most countries.

An  AP  article published this week reiterates those findings, and a biology professor at the University of South Florida offered some free advice: “Don’t put your head under the water.”

But what, exactly, is swimming in a mouthful of water from the bay?

Lots of Company

While the  AP  has not released the actual data from their study, the findings appear to agree with a different study also published last year from researchers in Brazil. That study focused on levels of bacteria and algae found in Guanabara Bay, home of the sailing events. Those researchers concluded: “The majority of the beaches within the bay are not appropriate for swimming.”

Here’s a taste of what’s in the water (at various concentration levels):

• Coliforms:  bacteria that are not necessarily harmful themselves, but which indicate that other, more deadly bacteria are likely present.
• Clostridum:  the microbe behind botulism, tetanus and colitis
• Heightened levels of  Gammaproteobacteria:  a class of bacteria that includes species of Vibrio, known to cause intestinal infections.
• Klebsiella:  can cause pneumonia and urinary tract infections.
• Pseudomonas:  also a cause of pneumonia, and could also trigger blood infections.
• Antibiotic-resistant superbugs : This includes  Vibrio cholerae , which causes cholera,  Klebsiella pneumonia , and  Shigella  bacteria, which leads to an intestinal infection. A few of these bacteria were even shown to be multi-resistant, meaning that they exhibit an immunity to more than one kind of antibiotic.
• Bacillus:  the menace behind food poisoning.
• Adenoviruses:  a broad class of viruses that causes common afflictions such as colds and diarrhea, but also more menacing diseases like pneumonia and bronchitis.
• Rotaviruses:  most often causes gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the intestinal tract that leads to stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

Many of the bacteria were present at extraordinarily high levels, meaning the risk of infection is frighteningly large.

Along with the untreated waste, algae blooms are becoming more common, fed with an ample supply of phosphorus and nitrogen from the sewage and runoff. These blooms are known to produce harmful toxins, and suck up oxygen in the water, killing off the fish many residents depend on for their livelihoods.

The unnaturally nutrient-rich conditions also favor particular types of bacteria over others, some of which can be harmful to humans.

The  AP  found that 90 percent of sites sampled had worrying levels of adenoviruses, which lead to a host of infections, and Ipanema beach, and likely others, saw levels of rotavirus exceeding 32 million per liter.

You don’t even have to go in the water to be at risk — tests of the sand itself also found greater than average levels of viruses.

Some species of bacteria break down in warm water and sunlight, both of which are ready commodities in Brazil. Viruses, on the other hand, don’t disappear so easily.

It’s a Sewer

Rio de Janeiro has for years been pumping large quantities of raw sewage into the bay, in addition to industrial waste from 16,000 sources and freshwater runoff, which also contains contaminants.

It is estimated that as much as 18 cubic meters of raw sewage flows into the bay per second. However, plans to upgrade the water treatment system have repeatedly been put on hold.

The Rio Olympics were meant to provide the impetus for the city to clean up its act, but the time for that has come and gone. In just a few days, Olympic athletes will be sailing, rowing and swimming in waters that are constantly subject to an influx of raw sewage, and which consistently contain far above safe levels of potentially harmful microbes and viruses.

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• Sewage
• Sewer Networks

3 Comments

1. Язык оригинала: английский

   "Knowledge is a process of piling up facts, Wisdom lies in their simplification." - Martin Fischer
   I fully agree with this statement.
    That is why we were looking for a simpler and more manageable way to clean different types of wastewater. And they found it.
   We have eaten several processes into one and got a machine capable in a very short period of time (30 seconds) to clean and disinfect the required water. This method does not apply microorganisms - only natural, manageable processes that can clean almost any type of wastewater.
   The great advantage of this method is its energy-efficiency - by e-mail, energy costs are reduced to four times, which significantly reduces the cost of cleaning. It is important to note that the reduced and occupied territory under the treatment plant five times !!!
   Reduced also the sanitary protection zone to 20 meters, allowing you to clean drains in the neighboring apartment building of construction.
   Mechanical impurities in the purification process and degraded after Defused-nance they can pack up and sell as organic fertilizer. Removal and disposal of activated sludge - NO.
    We have experience of this technology (we do and produce the equipment) on the clean "heavy" waste - pig and cattle slaughtering plant. Equipment has more than 6 years.
    Those interested are invited to watch and make sure the equipment and its energy efficiency.

2. It would be nice if some profits from these type of games can remain in the organizing country for investment in projects for the common good such as construction, operation & maintenance of water treatment plants.

3. This Olympic allowances of water sports in the open Rio Basin is inconceivable !!!!! Apparently the Big Show means more than the Health, Welfare, Safety, and the Environment ! Any of these noble athletes, who are giving their best for their respective countries, should take immediate and decisive legal action against the orchestrators of this potential negative health catastrophe. If even one of these fine athletes is infected, or effected, by this septic scenario; THERE WILL BE ACTION BY THE GLOBAL PUBLIC COMMUNITY !