Before dawn one day in August, "two men disguised as fishermen hid in the dark outside the compound of an oil service company on Rio de Janeiro's picturesque Guanabara Bay, the site of next year's Olympic sailing competition," according to Stephen Eisenhammer of REUTERS. When "a pipe began oozing pungent liquid into the bay, they took pictures and a water sample." A few days later, "armed with evidence the liquid was thick with heavy metals, they slapped the firm with a ban on cleaning fuel tanks and instructed Rio's city hall to fine the company." The men "form part of the Coordinated Combat against Environmental Crime (CICCA), a small team on the frontline of the sprawling Brazilian city's fight against pollution." The "five-strong group does everything from rescuing washed-up whales to dynamiting luxury homes illegally built in protected areas." Lately, it has turned its "attention to water contamination." Guanabara Bay's "rampant pollution levels are the city's biggest headache ahead of its hosting of the Olympics in August." In Rio, government officials admit a promise to treat 80% of sewage entering the bay "will not be achieved before the Olympics' Aug. 5 opening ceremony." Health experts said that "the risks to the public range from a multitude of gastrointestinal diseases to hepatitis A." An "inadequate sewage system and the untreated human waste that flows into the bay is one part of the problem." Another "is the illegal dumping of waste by companies, and it is these firms that CICCA has in its crosshairs." CICCA Head Jose Mauricio Padrone said, "The people doing this are not afraid. They're making too much money and not enough of them get caught. There's been a long period of impunity and there's also a huge lack of education." Every day an estimated 640 million liters (169 million gallons) of untreated sewage flow into the bay, "enough to fill 185 Olympic swimming pools" (REUTERS, 12/18).
