As the Olympic Games get under way in Rio de Janeiro, a wide range of industries from hospitality to manufacturing and real estate face heightened environmental exposures.

Rio de Janeiro is renowned for its natural beauty, but in the run-up to the 2016 Olympics the global focus has shifted to the environmental problems bedeviling Brazil's second-largest city. Those concerns were amplified by the usual frantic pre-Games construction rush to make sure all the transit facilities, venues and accommodations were ready on time.

More than 10,000 athletes were expected to participate in the August games, and Brazilian officials have estimated that up to a half-million additional tourists will visit during the Summer Olympics.

|

Garbage and raw sewage

Among the environmental issues making headlines were concerns about garbage and raw sewage in Rio's Guanabara Bay and along the iconic Copacabana beach, both venues for aquatic events. Rio de Janeiro had agreed to ambitious plans to deal with water quality and sewage as part of its bid to host the Games, but progress has lagged behind those stated goals.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.