Rio beaches unsafe

Garbage and raw sewage spilling onto beaches in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have resulted in 12 beaches being declared unsafe for swimming by the government’s environmental agency.

In Rio, which has an urban population of more than 11 million, only 40% of the sewage is treated. The remaining 60% flows into the nearby rivers, lagoons and ocean. Swimming in untreated sewage can lead to infections and diarrhea. 

The city’s Guanabara Bay, the proposed venue for the 2016 Olympic sailing events, is the dumping ground for up to 100 tons of garbage a day. Rio had budgeted $1 billion in cleanup ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics but recently cut the funding to $51 million.