The waters where Olympians will compete in swimming and boating events next summer in South America's first games "are rife with human sewage and present a serious health risk for athletes, as well as for visitors," according to the AP. An AP investigation "found dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria from sewage in venues where athletes will compete in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic water sports." In the first independent comprehensive testing for both viruses and bacteria at the Olympic sites, "the AP conducted four rounds of tests starting in March." The results "have alarmed international experts and dismayed competitors training in Rio," some of whom "already have fallen ill with fevers, vomiting and diarrhea." Ivan Bulaja, a coach for the Austrian team, which has spent months training on the Guanabara Bay, said, "This is by far the worst water quality we've ever seen in our sailing careers. I am quite sure if you swim in this water and it goes into your mouth or nose that quite a lot of bad things are coming inside your body." IOC Medical Dir Dr. Richard Budgett said after seeing the AP findings that "the IOC and Brazilian authorities would stick to their program of testing only for bacteria to determine whether the water is safe, as that is the accepted norm globally." He said, "We've had reassurances from the World Health Organization and others that there is no significant risk to athlete health." Brazilian officials insist that "the waters will be safe, but the AP testing over five months found not one venue fit for swimming or boating, according to international experts, who say it's too late for a cleanup." Independent Southern California Coastal Water Research Project marine biologist John Griffith said, "What you have there is basically raw sewage." Griffith "examined the protocols, methodology and results of the AP tests." He added, "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" (AP, 7/30).
