Organizers scrap viral tests of Rio’s sewage-filled waters ahead of Olympics

MEGAN THOMPSON:

The controversy covers Rio's dirty waterways that will be used for sailing, rowing, canoeing, triathalon and open distance swimming.

Rio's Guanabara Bay and other water venues are polluted with trash and untreated human sewage, and independent tests commissioned by the Associated Press in July found high levels of viruses in these waters.

Doctors for the U.S. Olympic team blamed water contamination for causing 13 American rowers getting sick during an August practice run on the lake where the rowing competition will be held.

Viruses can cause severe stomach and respiratory illnesses that would prevent an athlete from competing, and viruses live longer than bacteria in tropical climate's like Rio's.

But Brazils Olympic organizers say the World Health Organization backs them up, that tests for viruses are not needed because of a lack of standardized methods and difficulty interpreting results.

Rio 2016 will also save money because viral testing is more expensive and difficult than bacterial testing.

As for the trash piling up on the shores of Guanabara Bay, Rio is recruiting volunteers to help pick it up, in exchange for a credit on their electricity bills.

Rio's Olympic organizers hope the cleanup efforts will reduce pollution of its waterways by 80 percent before the games begin next summer.