The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Congressional research reportAug 8, 2016

Ask Donna

What actually matters in this document.

Text

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security,

Environmental, and Doping Issues

,name redacted,, Coordinator

Specialist in American National Government

,name redacted,, Coordinator

Specialist in Terrorism and National Security

August 8, 2016

Congressional Research Service

7-....

www.crs.gov

R44575

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Summary

The 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 5-21, 2016, and will be

followed by the Paralympic Games, September 7-18, 2016. Notably, these are the first games to

be hosted by a South American city. Reportedly, 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will

participate in the Olympics, including 555 athletes from the United States. Most Olympic events

will take place in and around Rio de Janeiro. In addition to Rio de Janeiro, soccer matches will be

held in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Manaus, São Paulo, and Salvador.

Host countries and cities often have to deal with a variety of questions or issues, which is also

true for Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. The list of issues or potential problems that might have

implications for athletes, team personnel, and spectators participating in or attending the 2016 Rio

Games includes the Zika virus, public safety threats, security concerns, and environmental

conditions. It also bears noting that the act of hosting the Olympics may have implications for

Brazil. Finally, doping is of particular concern this year because of revelations regarding a stateorchestrated doping scheme perpetrated by Russian authorities and sports organizations.

Each candidate city for the 2016 Games was required to address 14 themes in its bid, such as

environment and meteorology, finance, security, medical services, and doping control. However,

no one in 2009 could have foreseen the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in late 2015,

when Brazilian health officials noticed an increase in the number of infants born with

microcephaly. Although some have called for the Games to be postponed or cancelled, the U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO)

have indicated the risk of international transmission due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games is

low. The CDC has published specific recommendations for pregnant women, and the U.S.

Olympic Committee (USOC) has taken steps to safeguard the U.S. Olympic team.

In the candidature file it submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Rio 2016

Organising Committee for the Olympic Games stated that visitors to the country would be

provided free health care. Additionally, Brazil committed to providing medical response teams

and units at Olympic facilities. However, shortages of health care workers and supplies might

compromise the medical services available.

Public safety and security are key concerns for visitors to Brazil, including Olympic competitors

and spectators. The Department of State has noted that crime is a significant threat, and, during

the 2014 World Cup, thieves targeted visitors near sports venues and other locales frequented by

tourists. Although Rio de Janeiro has experienced significant improvement in public safety in

recent years, some criminal activity has increased in the first half of 2016. With respect to

security concerns and, specifically, terrorist threats, Brazil’s Director of Counterterrorism

reportedly has noted that the threat of terrorism has increased in recent months. In July 2016, the

Brazilian police arrested 10 Brazilian nationals suspected of planning an attack during the Games.

The national government, which is in charge of security for the Olympic Games, plans to muster

a force of 85,000 personnel to provide security. U.S. citizens requiring assistance may reach out

to the State Department.

Organizers of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics have made many commitments

to host Games in which environmental sustainability is integral to design and planning through

implementation, review, and post-event activities. These commitments address issues such as

impacts of public transportation, construction, and waste management, and needed water quality

improvements. For some time, concern has focused on pollution of waters at venues that will host

sailing, rowing, triathlon, and similar events, leading to fear that high levels of water pollution

could harm the health of tourists and athletes, in addition to impacting the competitions

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

themselves. Organizers of the Games acknowledge that commitments related to sanitation and

water quality will not be met before the Games begin.

The Brazilian government campaigned hard to win the right to host the 2016 Olympics, viewing

the Games as an opportunity to showcase Brazil’s economic and social progress and reinforce the

country’s image as a rising power. Brazil’s international stature has generally declined in recent

years, however, as the country has struggled to address deepening economic and political crises.

While the Olympics could allow Brazil to highlight its potential and regain some of the prestige it

may have lost in recent years, any problems that emerge are likely to reinforce negative

perceptions some have of the country. The Games are unlikely to have much of an effect on

Brazil’s domestic political situation or economy. Nevertheless, a successful Olympics could

strengthen the current government’s hold on power and provide a temporary boost to Rio de

Janeiro’s economy. Most Brazilians are relatively pessimistic about the Olympics and believe

they have brought more costs than benefits to the country.

While doping is a perennial concern, it has been, and is, of particular concern in the months

leading up to the 2016 Rio Games. The release of two World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

reports, in November 2015 and July 2016, has shown that Russian authorities and sports

organizations engaged in doping schemes involving the Russian track and field team and Russian

athletes competing in 2014 at the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The latter report also revealed a

multi-year operation implicating, among other organizations, the Russian Ministry of Sport. The

consequences of these reports include, among other actions and decisions taken by the

appropriate international sports organizations, a ban on Russia’s track and field team, which

means the team will not be allowed to participate in the 2016 Games. Additionally, the

International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that the presumption of innocence does not apply

to Russian athletes and established conditions other Russian athletes must meet to demonstrate

they have clean doping records and thus be eligible to compete in Rio de Janeiro.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 3

The Zika Virus Outbreak ................................................................................................................. 5

Background ............................................................................................................................... 5

A Proposal to Postpone or Cancel the Games ........................................................................... 6

Protections for U.S. Travelers and Athletes .............................................................................. 6

Protections for Pregnant Women ............................................................................................... 7

Brazilian Health Services for Olympians and Visitors .................................................................... 8

Public Safety and Security During the Games ................................................................................ 9

Public Safety Concerns ............................................................................................................. 9

Security Concerns .................................................................................................................... 11

Terrorist Incidents in Past Olympics .................................................................................. 11

The Terrorist Threat to the Rio Games .............................................................................. 11

Brazil’s Security Preparations for the Games ................................................................... 12

U.S. Citizens Requiring Assistance .................................................................................. 12

Environmental Concerns ............................................................................................................... 13

Background: Environmental Commitments for the Olympics Games .................................... 13

Water Quality Issues ......................................................................................................... 15

Implementing the Environmental Commitments .................................................................... 17

Health Implications for Athletes ............................................................................................. 17

Environmental Legacy of Hosting the Olympics .................................................................... 19

Implications of the Olympics for Brazil ........................................................................................ 20

Doping ........................................................................................................................................... 22

The Russian Athletics Federation and Doping ........................................................................ 24

2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and Doping............................................................................... 26

Ramifications of the IC Report and IP Report ........................................................................ 27

Russian Athletes ................................................................................................................ 27

Other Athletes ................................................................................................................... 28

Re-testing of Samples from Previous Summer Olympics ................................................ 29

Other Athletes’ Concerns ........................................................................................................ 30

Protecting Clean Athletes Post-2016 Rio Games .................................................................... 31

Figures

Figure 1. Olympic Venues within Rio de Janeiro ............................................................................ 2

Figure 2. Olympic Venues for Soccer .............................................................................................. 2

Figure 3. Rio2016TM Water Venue Locations ................................................................................ 16

Appendixes

Appendix. Anti-Doping Acronyms ................................................................................................ 33

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Contacts

Author Contact Information .......................................................................................................... 33

Key Policy Staff ............................................................................................................................ 34

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Introduction

Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced on October

2, 2009, that Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, had been selected to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad

in 2016.1 The selection of Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 games marks the first time a South

American city has been selected to host an Olympics. Rio de Janeiro was an applicant city for the

2012 Summer Olympics.2 Rio de Janeiro does have experience hosting major international

sporting events, however. The city hosted the 2007 Pan-American Games and the 2014

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup.

The Olympic Games will be held August 5-21, 2016.3 It is expected that 10,500 athletes from 206

countries will participate in 42 sports, including 555 athletes on the U.S. Olympic team.4 Most

events will be held at 32 competition venues in 4 main regions, or neighborhoods, in Rio de

Janeiro: Barra de Tijuca (Barra), Copacabana, Deodoro, and Maracanã.5 Figure 1 below shows

the four neighborhoods and the specific venues located in each.

In addition to Rio de Janeiro (which has two soccer stadiums), soccer matches will be held in the

cities of Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Manaus, São Paulo, and Salvador. Figure 2 below shows all six

cities.

For the first time, the 2016 Rio Games will feature a team consisting of athletes who are refugees.

Created by the IOC’s Executive Board, the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) for the 2016 Summer

Games has 10 members who were selected from a pool of 43 athletes. The origin countries of the

ROT athletes are the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2), Ethiopia (1), South Sudan (5), and

Syria (2). The IOC will ensure that the ROT receives uniforms, housing, and technical assistance

(e.g., coaches and support staff). The Olympic flag and the Olympic anthem will be used for any

official representations, such as possible medal ceremonies, involving ROT.6

In addition to Rio de Janeiro, Baku, Azerbaijan; Chicago; Doha, Qatar; Madrid, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; and

Tokyo, Japan had submitted applications to the IOC to host the 2016 games. The IOC’s Executive Board accepted

Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo as candidate cities. International Olympic Committee, “2016 Host City

Election,” at https://www.olympic.org/2016-host-city-election.

International Olympic Committee, “2012 Host City Election,” at http://www.olympic.org/content/the-ioc/olympicgames-candidature-process/past-bid-processes/2012-host-city-election/.

The Paralympic Games will be held in Rio September 7-18, 2016.

U.S. Olympic Committee, “U.S. Olympic Committee Announces 555-Member 2016 U.S. Olympic Team”, July 23,

2016, at http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/July/23/US-Olympic-Committee-Announces-555-Member-2016-USOlympic-Team. Two sports—golf and rugby—return to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. IOC members voted on

October 9, 2009, to readmit these two sports to the Olympic program. Previously, golf was included in the Olympic

program in Paris (1900) and St. Louis (1904), and rugby was included in Paris (1904 and 1924), London (1908), and

Antwerp (1920). In these four previous Olympics, each rugby team had 15 players. The Rio Olympics will have the

sport “Rugby sevens,” which means each team has seven players. International Olympic Committee, “Golf Poised to

Make Long Awaited Return,” March 29, 2016, at http://www.olympic.org/news/golf-poised-to-make-long-awaitedreturn/248930; International Olympic Committee, “Golf and Rugby – New Kids on the Block,” March 17, 2016, at

http://www.olympic.org/news/golf-and-rugby-new-kids-on-the-block/248877.

Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, “Olympic Games,” at http://www.rio2016.com/en/olympicgames.

International Olympic Committee, “Refugee Olympic Team to Shine Spotlight on Worldwide Refugee Crisis,” June

3, 2016, at https://www.olympic.org/news/refugee-olympic-team-to-shine-spotlight-on-worldwide-refugee-crisis.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Figure 1. Olympic Venues within Rio de Janeiro

2016 Rio Games

Source: Created by the Congressional Research Service using data from the U.S. Olympic Committee and ESRI.

Figure 2. Olympic Venues for Soccer

2016 Rio Games

Source: Created by the Congressional Research Service using data from the U.S. Olympic Committee and ESRI.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Overview

Over the years, host countries and cities have had to deal with a variety of concerns, problems, or

criticisms, and Rio de Janeiro is no exception. Separately or collectively, a variety of issues might

pose risks to the health, safety, and general well-being of athletes and their families, team

personnel, and spectators participating in or attending the 2016 Games. Chief among these are the

Zika virus, public safety threats, security concerns, and environmental conditions. This report also

discusses the possible implications of hosting the Olympics for Brazil and the issue of doping.

Each candidate city for the 2016 Games was required to address 14 themes in its bid—such as

environment and meteorology, finance, security, medical services, and doping control. However,

in 2009 no one could have foreseen the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in 2016. The

U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) has stated publicly that the decision to participate in the 2016

Games is up to each member of the U.S. Olympic team, which will include approximately 550

athletes.7 In March 2016, the USOC announced that it had recently established an Infectious

Disease Advisory Group consisting of three physicians who are infectious disease experts and

who have experience managing “infectious disease in patient populations that frequently travel

internationally.”8 The advisory group is to assist the USOC by establishing best practices for “the

mitigation, assessment and management of infectious disease.... ”9 Other steps taken, or planned,

by the USOC include making information available to athletes and the public via the Internet10

and providing Team USA athletes with mosquito netting, bug repellent, and informational

materials.11

The Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games described, in the candidature file it

submitted to the IOC, the exiting health care resources that could be used in support of the Games

and committed to providing a series of Games-specific health services.12 However, shortages of

health care workers and supplies might compromise the medical services available.

Public safety is also a key concern, given the prevalence of criminal activity in and around Rio de

Janeiro.13 More recently, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, criminals stole a truck loaded

with broadcasting equipment for the Games, and athletes training in Rio de Janeiro have been

robbed on the street.14 Although it does not mention the Olympics specifically, the State

Department’s information page for travelers to Brazil cautions that the city of Rio de Janeiro

continues to “experience high incidences of crime, including armed robberies.... Tourists are

particularly vulnerable to street thefts and robberies in the evening and at night especially in areas

Karen Rosen, “Team USA Leadership on Zika: ‘Our Main Emphasis is Communicate and Educate’,” news release,

March 7, 2016, at http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/March/07/Team-USA-Leadership-On-Zika-Our-MainEmphasis-Is-Communicate-And-Educate.

U.S. Olympic Committee, “U.S. Olympic Committee Creates Infectious Disease Advisory Group,” March 4, 2016, at

http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/March/04/US-Olympic-Committee-Creates-Infectious-Disease-Advisory-Group.

Ibid.

The website is available at http://www.teamusa.org/Rio-Travel-Updates.

Karen Rosen, “Team USA Leadership on Zika: ‘Our Main Emphasis is Communicate and Educate.’”

Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Candidature File for Rio de Janeiro to Host the 2016

Olympic and Paralympic Games, 2009, Vol. 3, n.p.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Overseas Security Advisory Council, Brazil 2016 Crime 7

Safety Report: Rio de Janeiro, at https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=19071.

Paul Kiernan and Will Connors, “Truck Carrying Broadcast Equipment for Olympics Hijacked in Rio,” Wall Street

Journal, July 1, 2016.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

adjacent to major tourist attractions.”15 However, U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) officials

reportedly have stated that “the athletes’ and competition venues would be ‘the safest place in the

world’” and U.S. “‘athletes will be among the safest people in Rio, just because of all the security

there’s going to be.’”16

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States and recent attacks in Belgium,

France, and the United States have heightened concerns that the Olympics could be targeted by

terrorists. As reported by the Washington Post, Brazil is revising its security plans for the Games

in the wake of the incident in Nice, France, in July 2016.17 On the other hand, the Wall Street

Journal reported that a contract for providing screeners who will staff security checkpoints was

not awarded until July 1, 2016, and the company awarded the contract is “a small employment

outsourcing firm.”18

Hosting the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games may have implications for Brazil that extend

beyond the actual events. Although the Brazilian government viewed hosting the Olympics as an

opportunity to showcase the country’s progress, its international stature has generally declined in

recent years and Olympics-related problems that have emerged, or may emerge, could adversely

affect the country’s standing. For example, as countries’ Olympic teams began moving into the

Olympic Village in July, they discovered a variety of infrastructure problems. At least one

country’s delegation chose to stay in a hotel while the plumbing, electricity, and gas problems

were fixed.19 Additionally, the backdrop to the Olympics is a country beset by political and

economic issues.

Although a host country may anticipate that being selected to stage the Games will enhance its

standing in the world, serve as a catalyst for ameliorating (for example) environmental issues, or

prompt economic development, hosting the Games may fall short of the Rio 2016 Organising

Committee for the Olympic Games’ (Rio Organising Committee or Rio2016™) goals or

exacerbate existing problems or issues. If Brazil’s efforts are successful, the country may regain

some of the prestige it may have lost in recent years, and, turning to politics, a successful Games

might improve the standing of the interim president. While the city of Rio de Janeiro may benefit

from infrastructure improvements, it is unclear how hosting the Games might affect the country

(including the city and state of Rio de Janeiro) financially.

Of particular to concern to athletes who compete in open water events, such as sailing and

rowing, is the quality of the water where those events will take place. Although the Rio 2016

Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Rio Organising Committee or Rio2016™) had

committed, for example, to ensuring to improve the quality of the water at the venue for

canoeing, kayaking, and rowing events,20 the efforts apparently have fallen short. As reported by

U.S. Department of State, “Brazil,” at https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/brazil.html.

Dave Sheinin, “USOC Organizers Downplay Concerns over Zika, Security Heading into Rio Games,” Washington

Post, at https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/usoc-organizers-downplay-concerns-over-zika-securityheading-into-rio-games/2016/06/30/b47d1ff8-3f11-11e6-a66f-aa6c1883b6b1_story.html.

Dom Phillips, “Brazil Beefs Up Olympic Security after Nice Terror Attacks,” Washington Post, July 16,

2016, at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazil-beefs-up-olympic-security-after-nice-terrorattack/2016/07/16/dd2cced8-4b75-11e6-8dac-0c6e4accc5b1_story.html

Will Connors, “Brazil Moves Late on Olympics Security—Small, Inexperienced Company Was Given Contract for

Screening Only Two Weeks Ago,” Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2016.

Vinod Sreeharsha, “At Athletes’ Village, a Nonstop Effort to Stem Flow of Complaints,” New York Times, July 26,

2016, at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/sports/at-athletes-village-a-nonstop-effort-to-stem-flow-ofcomplaints.html?ref=sports.

Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Candidature File for Rio de Janeiro to Host the 2016

(continued...)

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

ESPN.com in early 2016, a USOC memorandum on water quality read, in part, that “The IOC and

Rio Organizing Committee recognize that the water quality in and around Rio is for the most part

not at an acceptable level and there [are] significant fluctuations in the bacterial and viral

contaminants at the competition venues.”21 Precautions taken by the U.S. rowing team include

wearing a training suit that has anti-microbial properties.22

Doping, which is a perennial concern, has taken on added importance in the year leading up to the

Rio Games because of revelations regarding Russia’s national governing body (NGB) for track

and field. Publication of a World Anti-Doping Agency-commissioned report in November 2015

revealed that individuals and sports organizations in Russia had engaged in an orchestrated

doping scheme involving track and field athletes. A second WADA report, released in July 2016,

documents Russian doping practices during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and a multi-year

doping methodology that involved the Russian Ministry of Sport. While the relevant international

organizations, such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), denounced the doping schemes

and practices and used their respective authorities to sanction individuals and organizations

involved, lingering questions remain regarding, in particular, other Russian Olympic athletes and

teams.

The Zika Virus Outbreak23

Background

In late 2015, health officials in Brazil saw a spike in the number of infants born with

microcephaly, a birth defect that may accompany significant, permanent brain damage. The

increase in microcephaly was later linked to prenatal infection with the Zika virus, which appears

to have arrived in Brazil early in 2015. Between October 2015 and July 2016, more than 1,600

cases of Zika-related microcephaly and other congenital malformations of the central nervous

system have been reported among newborns in Brazil.24

Zika virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, or through sexual transmission

or blood transfusion from an infected person. No vaccine or specific treatment is available. Most

Zika infections are mild. However, rare but serious neurologic disorders may occur in anyone

who is infected, and the risk of fetal abnormalities among infected pregnant women may be as

high as 13%.25

(...continued)

Olympic and Paralympic Games, 2009, Vol. 1, p. 97.

Bonnie D. Ford, “USOC Started Plans for Dealing with Rio Water Issues in 2015, According to Memo,” ESPN.com,

February 19, 2016, at http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/14794579/usoc-memo-2015-details-water-worries-2015rio-olympic-games.

Associated Press, “U.S. Rowers Get Antimicrobial Training Suits for Rio Games”, June 26, 2016, at

http://espn.go.com/olympics/rowing/story/_/id/16536587/us-rowers-given-antimicrobial-training-suits-rio-games;

Prepared by (name redacted), Specialist in Public Health and Epidemioology, and Grant D. Clinkingbeard, Research

Associate.

Pan American Health Organization “Regional Zika Epidemiological Update (Americas),” July 7, 2016, at

http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11599&Itemid=41691&lang=en. For more

information about the Zika outbreak in Brazil, see CRS Report R44545, Zika Virus in Latin America and the

Caribbean: U.S. Policy Considerations, coordinated by (name redacted)

Michael A. Johansson, et al., “Zika and the Risk of Microcephaly,” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 375, July

7, 2016. See also CDC, “Questions and Answers for Healthcare Providers Caring for Pregnant Women and Women of

(continued...)

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

A Proposal to Postpone or Cancel the Games

Some have voiced concerns that the travel of thousands of tourists and athletes to the Olympic

and Paralympic Games and back to their homes could enhance the regional and global spread of

the Zika virus. For some time, Brazilian officials have sought to assuage these concerns by noting

that the Games will take place during the dry winter season in Brazil, when fewer mosquitoes are

present, and that the venues and hotel areas will be regularly fumigated.26 However, in May 2016,

150 health experts and bioethicists wrote an open letter to WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret

Chan urging her to recommend postponing or relocating the Games.27 The letter cites

uncertainties surrounding the emergence of the Zika virus in the Americas, and the severity of the

neurologic injuries Zika infection can cause. The letter also states that a long-standing partnership

between WHO and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presents a conflict of interest that

compromises WHO’s ability to render a neutral opinion on public health in this situation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reaffirmed its support of the Games in June 2016,

following the third meeting of a WHO Emergency Committee convened to study the Zika

outbreak and the means to contain it. As it had before, the WHO committee determined that “ ...

there is a very low risk of further international spread of Zika virus as a result of the Olympic and

Paralympic Games ... ,” and it did not recommend postponing, cancelling, or relocating the

Games.28 In July 2016, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

and their collaborators published a model of the contribution of the Olympics to the international

spread of the Zika virus. The model found this contribution to be negligible except for four

countries—Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Yemen—that do not otherwise have substantial travel to

any country with local Zika virus transmission.29

Protections for U.S. Travelers and Athletes

The CDC publishes health recommendations for U.S. travelers to other countries. For the Zika

outbreak, the CDC has not advised against all travel to Brazil (or other areas with active Zika

transmission). It has advised against travel by pregnant women (discussed further below), and

advises other travelers to use special precautions while in Brazil and upon return. These

precautions include avoiding being bitten by mosquitoes, and practicing “safe sex” while on

travel and for specified periods of time upon return.30

(...continued)

Reproductive Age with Possible Zika Virus Exposure,” April 15, 2016, at http://www.cdc.gov/zika/.

See for example Donna Bowater, “Brazil Battles to Save Rio Olympics as WHO Says it Will Look Again at Zika

Risk,” The Telegraph, June 4, 2016.

Letter from Amir Attaran et al. to Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO, June 20, 2016,

https://rioolympicslater.org/. See also Lena H. Sun, “150 Experts Say Olympics Must Be Moved or Postponed Because

of Zika,” Washington Post, May 27, 2016.

World Health Organization. “WHO Statement on the Third Meeting of the ... Emergency Committee on Zika Virus

and Observed Increase in Neurological Disorders and Neonatal Malformations,” June 14, 2016, at http://www.who.int/

mediacentre/news/statements/2016/zika-third-ec/en/.

Ardath Grills et al., “Projected Zika Virus Importation and Subsequent Ongoing Transmission after Travel to the

2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games—Country-Specific Assessment, July 2016,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly

Report, vol. 65, July 13, 2016, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr. Other studies support a similar conclusion. Some of them

are discussed by Julie Steenhuysen, “New Research Finds Low Risk of Zika Virus at Olympics,” Reuters, June 7, 2016.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Zika Virus in Brazil,” Level 2 Travel Alert, April 28, 2016, at

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/zika-brazil.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

The USOC refers members of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic delegations to CDC guidelines

on travel to Brazil. In addition, the USOC says that delegation members who plan to attend the

games will be provided with air-conditioned rooms, repellant spray, protective clothing, and a sixmonth supply of condoms to help them adhere to CDC guidelines.31 The USOC formed a

voluntary advisory group of three infectious disease physicians to advise the committee and

individual members of the U.S. delegation on preventing Zika infection.32

As of early July 2016, several athletes, mostly men, have announced their decisions to forgo the

2016 Games due to concerns about Zika infection. Their concerns have included the safety of a

pregnant wife, possible risks for future childbearing, and possible risks to their own health.33

Protections for Pregnant Women

As the Zika outbreak spreads across South and Central America and the Caribbean, public health

officials have focused on protecting pregnant women from infection. Ongoing research shows

persistence of the virus in semen of men who have recovered from infection, even when the

infection was mild enough to go unnoticed. Based on this, the CDC has made specific

recommendations involving travel to Zika-affected areas in order to protect women—and their

current or future pregnancies—from sexual transmission of Zika infection.34 Recommendations

involving the Olympic and Paralympic Games are shown in the text box. In light of these

complicated recommendations, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, delegation members, athletes’

families, and spectators are advised to consider—in addition to their own health status and the

risk of Zika infection—the risk of transmitting an infection to a woman who is currently pregnant

or who plans to conceive in the future.

Recommendations to Prevent Sexual Transmission of the Zika Virus



Women who are pregnant are advised not to travel to the Olympic or Paralympic Games.



Anyone who travels to Brazil and whose partner is pregnant should abstain from sex or use barrier protection

(i.e., male or female condoms or dental dams) for sex of any kind for the duration of the pregnancy.



A man who has a confirmed Zika virus infection or clinical illness consistent with Zika virus disease should

consider using condoms or abstaining from sex with a non-pregnant partner for at least 6 months after the onset

of illness. For a woman with a confirmed or possible Zika virus infection and a non-pregnant partner, the

comparable period for abstinence or use of barrier protection is at least 8 weeks from the onset of illness.



Anyone who travels to Brazil but does not develop symptoms of Zika virus disease should consider using barrier

protection or abstaining from sex with a non-pregnant partner for at least 8 weeks after departure from the

area.



For couples seeking to become pregnant,



women who have Zika virus disease should wait at least 8 weeks after symptom onset to attempt

conception, and men with Zika virus disease should wait at least 6 months after symptom onset to attempt

conception.

Letter from Scott A. Blackmun, Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Olympic Committee, to the Honorable Barbara Boxer,

United States Senate, May 23, 2016, at http://www.teamusa.org/~/link.aspx?_id=

4D577042ABE74F99BC847395A860429A&_z=z.

U.S. Olympic Committee, “U.S. Olympic Committee Creates Infectious Disease Advisory Group,” press release,

March 4, 2016, at http://www.teamusa.org/News.

See for example, “Athletes to Skip Olympic Games because of Zika Virus Concerns,” Newsday.com, updated June

29, 2016.

Recent travelers and pregnant women are also urged to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes to prevent transmission of

the virus to or from mosquitoes.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues



women and men who have traveled to Brazil but do not have clinical illness consistent with Zika virus

disease should wait at least 8 weeks after exposure to attempt conception.

Sources: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “2016 Summer Olympics,” July 27, 2016, at

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/2016-summer-olympics-rio; and CDC, “Zika Virus: Women and Their

Partners Who Are Thinking About Pregnancy,” at http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/thinking-about-pregnancy.html.

Brazilian Health Services for Olympians and

Visitors35

Brazil offers free health care for its citizens and visitors.36 Health care services are expected to be

provided through “a comprehensive network of Games hospitals and related health care facilities,

including an upgraded World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Rio.”37 In addition to

the pre-existing health infrastructure, Brazil committed to establishing “a number of Gamesspecific services, including designated Games Family hospitals, a comprehensive Polyclinic

within the Olympic and Paralympic Village, on-site medical response teams at all Games venues,

and a network of medical stations supported by roving first aid teams.”38 Brazil has 27 hospitals

within 15 miles of the Olympic Village that hold nearly 5,000 beds, and, each of the four cities

that will host soccer matches, in addition to Rio de Janeiro, has its own hospital.39 Nine of the

hospitals may be designated as Olympic and Paralympic Reference Hospitals.40 Rio de Janeiro

also maintains a network of emergency services, which is resourced by the Emergency Rescue

Group (GSE; a component of the Rio Fire Corps), the Urgent Mobile Attention Service (SAMU),

and 1,500 health care professionals.41

Long waiting times, health worker shortages (particularly specialists), and deficits of key health

commodities are a growing concern in some public sector health facilities.42 A growing

proportion of Brazilians are opting to purchase private health insurance to supplement the free

public health care.43 Visitors can purchase travel insurance or purchase a temporary form of

private health insurance for health coverage in the local private sector.44 Despite concerns about

health worker shortages, Brazil has committed to ensure that



an on-site medical response team will be in place at all Olympic and Paralympic

venues to provide first response and medical transfer;

Prepared by (name redacted), Specialist in Global He

alth.

Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Candidature File for Rio de Janeiro to Host the 2016

Olympic and Paralympic Games, Vol. 3, 2009, p. 9.

Ibid., n.p.

Ibid., p. 9.

Ibid., p. 12.

Ibid., p. 19.

Ibid., p. 15.

Felicia Bryson, “Brazil’s SUS National Health Problems,” The Rio Times, April 5, 2011.

Michele Gragnolati, Magnus Lindelow, and Bernard Couttolenc, Twenty Years of Health System Reform in Brazil,

World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013, http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/

2013/06/21/000442464_20130621122542/Rendered/PDF/786820PUB0EPI10Box0377351B00PUBLIC0.pdf.

Ibid., p. 11.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues



at least two ambulance units will be stationed at each competition venue, as well

as in many non-competition venues including the Olympic and Paralympic

Village, training sites, and the Games Family hotels;

well-equipped disaster response teams are trained to respond to a range of

possible emergencies, including dangerous weather conditions, multiple casualty

situations, and incidents involving biological, chemical, or radiological hazards;

and

each Games venue will have its own mass casualty response plan with a predeployed, fully equipped mass casualty response team remaining on standby.45

The Brazilian Minister of Health has indicated that “Rio de Janeiro is prepared to host the

Olympic and Paralympic Games. Everything that was promised to host the Games will be

fulfilled and on time.”46 The International Olympic Committee also indicated that “Rio 2016 is

ready to welcome the world.”47 Despite these assurances, in January 2016, some state hospitals

reportedly ran out of money to pay for medicines, equipment, and salaries.48 Another press report

indicated that on July 7, 2016, two medical associations reported insufficient space at a state

hospital and inadequate training for healthcare personnel responsible for visitors of the Games.49

Public Safety and Security During the Games

Securing the venues, the athletes’ village, and tourist locations against an act of terrorism in a city

hosting the Olympic Games is a significant undertaking. The host country, with the assistance of

international security partners, plans for a long time to ensure that all participants or visitors to

the Games can have a safe and enjoyable experience. One type of activity that has caused

significant disruption to prior Games is an act of terrorism. Planning for such a terrorist incident

during the Olympic Games, while occurring infrequently, requires a great deal of host nation and

international support.

Safety is also a concern as criminal activity directed at the athletes and visitors could have

negative implications for the Games and the Brazilian economy and tourism.

Public Safety Concerns50

According to the State Department, “crime is the principal threat to visitors in Brazil.”51 When the

country hosted the 2014 World Cup, thieves engaged in opportunistic street crime, targeting

tourists near stadiums, on public transportation, and in other gathering locations. Commonly

Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Candidature File for Rio de Janeiro to Host the 2016

Olympic and Paralympic Games, pp. 15-16.

“Brazil Opens Control Center for Health Emergencies During Olympic Games,” Fox News Latino, July 12, 2016.

Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games ,“‘Rio 2016 Is Ready to Welcome the World,’ Says IOC

After Final Visit Before Olympic Games,”Rio2016, July 11, 2016, at https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/rio-2016ready-ioc-olympic-games-nawal%20el-moutawakel.

Foreign Policy Association Administrator, “Is Rio Ready for the Olympics?” Foreign Policy Association, Foreign

Policy Blogs, February 16, 2016, at http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2016/02/16/is-rio-ready-for-the-olympics/.

“Brazil Opens Control Center for Health Emergencies During Olympic Games,” Fox News Latino, July 12, 2016.

Prepared by (name redacted), Analystni Latin American Affairs.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Overseas Security Advisory Council, Brazil 2016 Crime &

Safety Report: Rio de Janeiro, February 15, 2016.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

stolen items included wallets, purses, phones, and other valuables. While thefts were usually nonviolent, more serious crimes were also reported, including sexual assault, armed robbery, and

express kidnapping.52

Rio de Janeiro has experienced significant improvements in security conditions over the past

decade. The city’s homicide rate, for example, fell from 32.4 per 100,000 residents in 2003 to

18.5 per 100,000 in 2015 (a rate similar to that of Miami).53 Conditions appear to have

deteriorated somewhat in 2016, however, with Rio de Janeiro state reporting a 13.6% increase in

homicides and a 27.3% increase in street robbery during the first five months of the year.54 The

U.S. State Department asserts that while crime can happen at any place or time within Rio de

Janeiro, “tourists are particularly vulnerable to street thefts and robberies in the evening and at

night especially in areas adjacent to major tourist attractions.”55 Several Olympic and Paralympic

athletes training or participating in test events in Rio de Janeiro reportedly have been robbed at

gunpoint.56

Some analysts have linked the recent increase in crime and violence to the Rio de Janeiro state

government’s decision to reduce the police budget by a third as a result of financial shortfalls.57

The state government declared a state of “public calamity” on June 17, warning that the state’s

deteriorating financial situation could lead to a total collapse of public security and other services.

Brazil’s national government responded to the declaration by transferring $885 million (R$2.9

billion) to the state government, largely to fund security efforts.58

Although public security is primarily the responsibility of Brazil’s states, the national government

will be in charge of ensuring security around the Olympic Games. The security presence is

expected to comprise 85,000 personnel, including 41,000 military troops; this is roughly twice as

many personnel as were deployed for the London Games in 2012. Some 67,000 security

personnel will be based in Rio de Janeiro while 18,000 will be deployed to the other five cities

hosting Olympic soccer games. In addition to providing security at Olympic venues, Brazilian

security forces reportedly will patrol airports, major roadways, public transportation lines, and

tourist zones.59

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Overseas Security Advisory Council, Brazil 2015 Crime

and Safety Report: Brasilia, March 10, 2015. Unlike conventional kidnappings, which “are elaborately planned, with

rich victims and prolonged negotiations,” express kidnappings generally occur quickly and involve small amounts of

ransom money. “Quickie Kidnappings,” The Economist, June 6, 2015, at http://www.economist.com/news/americas/

21653636-abductions-get-faster-poor-are-being-targeted-along-rich-quickie-kidnappings.

Governo de Rio de Janeiro, Secretaria de Segurança, Instituto de Segurança Pública, Rio de Janeiro: A Segurança

Pública em Números, 2016; Max Ehrenfreund and Denise Lu, “More People were Murdered Last Year Than in 2014,

and No One’s Sure Why,” Washington Post, January 27, 2016.

Governo de Rio de Janeiro, Secretaria de Segurança, Instituto de Segurança Pública, Resumo dos Indicadores de

Maio de 2016, June 30, 2016.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Brazil,” May 25, 2016, at https://travel.state.gov/content/

passports/en/country/brazil.html.

“Call for More Rio Security after Paralympic Athletes Robbed,” Associated Press, June 21, 2016.

Dom Phillips, “Facing Crime Wave, Brazil will Deploy 85,000 Police and Soldiers to Guard Olympics,” Washington

Post, June 9, 2016.

“Brazil: Rio Declares Public State of Calamity,” Latin American Weekly Report, June 23, 2016.

Marcio Menasce and Antônio Werneck, “Aviões que Invadirem Espaço Aéreo de Arenas Olímpicas podem ser

Abatidos,” Globo, July 7, 2016; Ministério da Defesa, “Defesa Atuará com 41 Mil Militares nos Jogos Olímpicos e

Paralímpicos Rio 2016,” press release, July 6, 2016.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Security Concerns60

Terrorist Incidents in Past Olympics

An act of terrorism occurring at the Olympic Games has long been a concern to international

security officials and the nation hosting the event. An act of terrorism can be perpetrated by an

international group attempting to call attention to its cause and using the act to leverage a specific

action, or a domestic group demonstrating its unhappiness with a nation’s policies.61 Concerns

relating to acts of terrorism significantly increased after the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany,

when members of the Palestinian Black September Organization attacked the Olympic village

and in the process of a hostage standoff and attempted getaway, killed 11 members of the Israeli

Olympic team. The group desired to bring attention to Palestinian and Israeli issues and also

demanded the release of more than 200 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.62 Another

confirmed terrorist attack occurred during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, whereby an

individual detonated a backpack full of material killing two and wounding more than 100. This

individual undertook this act of domestic terrorism to protest the nation’s abortion laws.63 Other

acts of violence or threats of violence have occurred prior to, leading up to, and during other

Olympic Games. Some of these acts or threats have been categorized as possibly having

terrorism-related motivations. Due to previous terrorist attacks at Olympic Games and post-9/11

concerns associated with possible vulnerabilities associated with large gatherings of individuals,

security officials are closely monitoring potential threats to the 2016 Games.

The Terrorist Threat to the Rio Games64

In April 2016, Brazil’s Director of Counterterrorism, Brazilian Intelligence Agency, Luiz Alberto

Sallaberry, was reported as noting that the threat of terrorism had increased in recent months due

to attacks in other countries and a rise in what he described as the number of Brazilian nationals

suspected of sympathizing with Islamic State militants.65 The statement from Director Sallaberry

was apparently in response to information relating to a Tweet from November 2015 by a

suspected ISIS executioner, French nationalist Maxime Hauchard, that stated, “Brazil, you are our

next target.”66 This warning comes approximately a year after a Brazilian newspaper reported

that, “Brazilian intelligence agencies are gearing up to monitor young people, especially men,

Prepared by (name redacted), Specialist in Terrorism and National Security.

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, Background Report: Terrorism

and the Olympics, College Park, MD, July 24, 2012, pp. 1-5, at https://www.start.umd.edu/sites/default/files/files/

publications/br/TerrorismAndOlympics.pdf.

Ibid., p. 2.

National Public Radio, “Full Text of Eric Rudolph’s Confession,” press release, April 14, 2005, at

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4600480.

Information contained in this section of the paper is derived from open-source unclassified research. Classified

information possessed by U.S. Intelligence Community or international security agencies may offer a different threat

assessment.

Alex Rodrigues, “Brazilian Intelligence Agency Confirms Terrorist Message Against the Country,” Agência Brasil ,

April 14, 2016, at http://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/geral/noticia/2016-04/brazilian-intelligence-agency-confirmsterrorist-message-against-country.

“Brazil, You Are Our Next Target: How Serious Is ISIS’s Latest Threat?,” Reuters, April 16, 2016, at

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2016/04/16/Brazil-sees-rising-threat-from-ISIS-says-intelligenceagency.html.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

who may be enticed by online ISIS propaganda to stage ‘lone wolf’ attacks.”67 More recently, on

July 21, 2016, Brazilian police arrested 10 Brazilian nationals suspected of planning a terrorist

attack on the Games.68 Given the history of threats directed at the Olympic Games and the

specific threats directed at Rio in the past year, many security observers anticipate activities to

safeguard these games will be significant.

Brazil’s Security Preparations for the Games

Securing Olympic venues, athletes, and visitors to the Games and the surrounding area takes a

great deal of effort and planning. Brazil planned to devote “approximately 85,000 professionals ...

to guarantee security in the biggest sporting event ever held in South America.”69 In August 2015,

the Brazilian government noted that, “[C]urrent investments totaling R$750 million ($220.98

million), to which about R$220.98 million ($88.39 million) in equipment and infrastructure

improvements for troops should still be added by 2016.”70 These resources were expected to be

devoted to investing in security-related items, including mobile police stations, mobile command

and control centers, Elevated Observation Platforms, aerial imagers for helicopter monitoring,

and an Integrated Command Center. In the event a security incident does arise that is the cause of

significant concerns and the host government is perceived as incapable of safeguarding visitors to

the Games, the United States may be of assistance to its citizens located in Rio de Janeiro.

U.S. Citizens Requiring Assistance71

Whether the result of criminal- or terrorism-related concerns, U.S. citizens who find themselves

in harm’s way have a number of options to seek support from the federal government. The

Department of State (DOS) is required by law to provide a range of threat-related services to

Americans abroad. In all but the most extreme situations, the department will serve primarily in

an information-distribution role. However, if the departure of U.S. citizens is advised, additional

assistance may be provided.

The Department of State is required by law to serve as a clearinghouse of information on any

major disaster or incident abroad which affects the health and safety of U.S. citizens abroad.72

The department carries out this function through the Consular Information Program, which

provides a range of products, including Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, Travel

Warnings, Worldwide Cautions, Messages for U.S. Citizens, Security Messages for U.S. Citizens,

Emergency Messages for U.S. Citizens, and Fact Sheets. These messages are posted online at

https://travel.state.gov.

Frances Martel, “Report: ISIS Recruiting ‘Lone Wolf’ Jihadists in Brazil to Attack 2016 Olympics,” Breitbart,

March 23, 2015, at http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/03/23/report-isis-recruiting-lone-wolf-jihadists-inbrazil-to-attack-2016-olympics/.

“Brazil Olympics: Ten Arrested for Plotting ‘Terror’,” BBC News, July 21, 2016, at http://www.bbc.com/news/

world-latin-america-36858806.

Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, “Federal Government One Year to the Rio 2016 Olympic

Games,” press release, August 4, 2015, at http://www.brasil2016.gov.br/en/news/one-year-to-the-rio-2016-olympicgames/press-kit-one-year-to-the-rio-2016-olympic-games.

Ibid.

The material in this section was taken from CRS In Focus IF10346, Helping U.S. Citizens Abroad During a Crisis:

Role of the Department of State, by (name redacted)

22 U.S.C. §2715.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

The Secretary of State is also required to provide for the safe and efficient evacuation of private

U.S. citizens when their lives may be endangered, per 22 U.S.C. §4802. In practice, even when

the department advises U.S. citizens to leave a country, DOS will advise citizens to evacuate

using existing commercial transportation options whenever possible. In more rare circumstances,

when the local transportation infrastructure is compromised, DOS may arrange chartered or noncommercial transportation for U.S. citizens to evacuate to a nearby safe location determined by

the department. Given the challenges associated with in-country transportation during crises, the

department typically requires citizens to make their own way to the departure point. On arrival at

a safe location, evacuees are then typically required to make their own onward travel

arrangements. Involvement of the U.S. military in any evacuation of U.S. citizens is a last resort,

as most evacuations are able to rely on commercial means and local infrastructure. When those

elements are not available, DOS and Defense Department coordination is addressed through a

standing Memorandum of Agreement that addresses the roles and responsibilities of each agency.

Environmental Concerns73

Background: Environmental Commitments for the Olympics

Games

In 1999, the IOC adopted a two-phase procedure for awarding an Olympic Games to a city. The

first phase is the “Candidature Acceptance Procedure,” during which applicant cities are required

to address several potential concerns of hosting the games, including “environmental conditions

and impact.” They must provide the following:



an assessment of current environmental conditions in the city;

details of ongoing environmental projects and their organization;

an assessment of the environmental impact of staging the Games in that city or

region; and

information regarding any environmental impact studies carried out on proposed

venues and if legislation requires such studies.74

Responses are assessed by the IOC Candidature Acceptance Working Group in its report to the

IOC Executive Board. Thus, environmental conditions, actions, and impact are a consideration in

the decision as to which cities become “candidate cities.”

During the second phase of consideration, a candidate city must prepare a “Candidature File” that

provides details on environmental and other issues. More details are requested, including air

quality, protected areas, public authorities’ roles and responsibilities, environmental impact

assessments, construction work, work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), integration

of environmental approaches into contracts with suppliers and sponsors, and estimates of Gamestime rainfall, wind, temperatures, and humidity levels. This information is considered by the IOC

to be a central element in developing a “Green Games,” as all commitments regarding actions,

Prepared by (name redacted), Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy.

International Olympic Committee, Sustainability and Legacy Commission, undated, at http://www.olympic.org/

sustainability-and-legacy-commission?tab=games.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

programs, and policies are binding and should be carried out and implemented by the Organising

Committee.75

After an Olympic Games is awarded to a city, the host city Organising Committee integrates

environmental issues into its planning, logistics, and operations in accordance with commitments

made in the Candidature File. It also must work with government authorities and other

stakeholders to implement the city-wide and nationwide policy and program developments and

actions in the bid in order for a city to fulfill its Host City contract obligations. In addition to

external scrutiny by NGOs and the media, the IOC and the Organising Committee monitor

progress and implementation of the proposed environmental and sustainability actions and

policies to ensure fulfillment of commitments.

In preparing its Candidature File, the Rio de Janeiro bid committee developed an agenda for the

2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games structured around nine environmental issues.

Water treatment and conservation

Environmental awareness

Use and management of renewable energy

Games neutral in carbon, air quality, and transport

Protection of soils and ecosystems

Sustainable design and construction

Reforestation, biodiversity, and culture

Shopping and ecological certification

Solid waste management.

Thus, by 2009, when the Rio Olympics Organising Committee was awarded the 2016 Summer

Games, it had made a number of pledges about ensuring that the Games would be

environmentally safe and sustainable. The Organising Committee also pledged to prepare a

subsequent Sustainability Management Plan expanding on the nine thematic issues identified in

the Candidature File and identifying responsible entities.76 The Sustainability Management Plan

identified three overarching strategic objectives, one of which—“Planet”—was intended to

reduce the environmental impact of projects related to the 2016 Games, leaving a smaller

environmental footprint from the preparations and operations of the event.

This portion of the plan identified specific objectives for transportation (including expanding the

subway system to provide public transport for spectators and workers, using cleaner fuels for

buses, and implementing actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in public transportation

systems). It also addressed construction (pledging to minimize environmental impacts in the

design and construction of facilities, and making large-scale urban redevelopment and

improvements around stadium and other sport venue sites).

The plan also identified objectives for waste management based on a hierarchy of approaches:

avoidance, reducing, reuse, recycling, composting, energy recovery techniques, waste treatment,

and conventional incineration. In 2007, among the 92 municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro,

76 discarded their waste in uncontrolled dumpsites. According to a state report, a total of 13,738

Ibid.

Rio2016, Sustainability Management Plan: Rio 2016TM Olympic and Paralympic Games, March 2013, p. 10, at

https://www.rio2016.com/sites/default/files/parceiros/sustainability_management_plan_aug2013.pdf. Hereinafter,

Sustainability Report. Environmental sustainability is a broad concept that essentially says that the needs of man can be

met without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

tons of garbage was produced daily by more than 15 million inhabitants of those municipalities.

Less than 1% of the waste was recycled, while 41% was disposed in dumpsites, and 45% went to

controlled sanitary landfills.77 The waste management objectives in the 2013 Sustainability Plan

and existing Brazilian policy called “Dumpsite Zero” mandated shutting down by 2014 all large

untreated dumpsites in Brazil, which were then receiving more than one-third of the country’s

waste, and replacing them with sanitary landfills.78

Finally, the Sustainability Management Plan addressed a fourth set of objectives related to

environmental conservation and cleanup. These objectives included projects to minimize impacts

on existing ecosystems at Games venues and to accelerate forest reforestation activities.

Available information on the extent to which these objectives have been met is summarized

below.

Water Quality Issues

One focus of the environmental conservation and cleanup objectives was improving the quality of

waters that would be sites for sailing, rowing, triathlon, and marathon swimming during the 2016

Games. The plan for the Games calls for sailing, rowing, and other outdoor water events to take

place at three locations located in the southeast portion of Rio de Janeiro—Marina da Gloria and

Guanabara Bay, Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, and Fort Copacabana beach, collectively referred to

as the Copacabana Zone (see Figure 3). Even before the Games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro,

concern had been widely expressed about these locations, which are highly polluted with

untreated sewage and household and industrial wastes. This concern led to fear that high levels of

water pollution could harm the health of tourists and athletes, in addition to impacting the

competitions themselves.

In 2007, the city of Rio de Janeiro treated only 21% of its wastewater to secondary treatment

levels, 44% received primary treatment, and nearly 35% was discharged into open waters with no

treatment.79 Untreated sewage is typically discharged directly into Guanabara Bay and other

waters where sailing, windsurfing, rowing, and similar events will occur. Exposure to pollutants

in untreated sewage can lead to acute illness such as diarrhea, gastroenteritis (“stomach flu”),

fever, Hepatitis A, and typhoid fever. Facilities that could provide better treatment exist in some

parts of the city, but are effectively unavailable due to lack of collector sewers to transport waste

to treatment plants. Monitoring of waters in the Copacabana Zone that was done by Rio2016™

during the 2007-2012 period identified levels of pollutants—enterococci and fecal coliform

bacteria, as well as nutrients—that exceeded Brazilian public health standards.

The OGI-SAGE/COPPE/URFJ Research Team for The Organising Committee for the Rio 2016 Olympic and

Paralympic Games, Olympic Games Impact (OGI) Study—RIO 2016, Initial report to measure the impacts and the

legacy of the Rio 2016 Games, January 2014, p. 82, at https://www.rio2016.com/transparencia/sites/default/files/

ogi_rio_2016_r1_eng1.pdf. Hereinafter, OGI Report.

The Plan acknowledged that a major challenge in shutting down dumpsites was the fact that they represented the

only source of income for an estimated 1,700 waste pickers in Rio de Janeiro who provided subsistence for their

families by scavenging materials on the sites. Measures to help these individuals, after closure of open dumps, in at

least one case involved governmental payments into a Waste Pickers Fund, which would disburse monies to waste

pickers over a period of future years. Sustainability Report, pp. 51-52.

Michael Kepp, “Olympic Athletes Go for Gold Amid Rio Garbage,” Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report,

July 27, 2016, p. B-1.Primary treatment is designed to remove suspended and floating solids from raw sewage.

Secondary treatment, which is roughly equated to removing 85% of untreated wastes, is the minimal wastewater

treatment requirement in the United States under the Clean Water Act.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Figure 3. Rio2016TM Water Venue Locations

Source: Prepared by CRS.

Concern was raised about pollution at all of the water venue sites but especially about Guanabara

Bay, where sailing events will take place, as described in a 2014 report prepared for the Rio

Organising Committee.

Despite the cyclic renewal of its waters to the sea, which makes it waters saline, the bay

is the receptor of a significant watershed, which receives a wide range of liquid and solid

discharges. Among the potential pollution sources included are: sewage, various types of

industries, marine terminals for oil products, two commercial ports, several shipyards,

and two oil refineries, among other economic activities. Population growth and industrial

development brought, in addition to pollution, environmental physical issues, such as the

destruction of peripheral ecosystems of the Bay, and the embankment of its water

surface. It also brought uncontrolled land use and its adverse effects in terms of siltation,

bottom sedimentation, flooding, and landslides. Simultaneously, public health problems

have characterized the basin region of Guanabara Bay, reflecting the inadequate

management of wastewater and solid waste in the region during the expansion of the

Metropolitan Region. Throughout this time, the implementation of infrastructure services,

such as sanitation and drainage did not follow population growth. 80

OGI Report, p. 44.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

The report concluded, “If this situation is not reversed in time for the Olympics, it will represent a

potential health hazard to the athletes and tourists.”81

The 2013 Sustainability Management Plan called for accelerating planned improvements to

sanitary facilities in the Rio metropolitan area, including a pledge that by the start of the 2016

Games, through projects to be undertaken by the municipal and state governments, collector

sewer infrastructure would be constructed throughout the city and 80% of sewage would be

treated to at least secondary treatment levels.

Implementing the Environmental Commitments

Although the 2013 Sustainability Management Plan stated that updates would be provided during

the seven-year life of the Rio Olympics project (from winning the bid in 2009 to dissolution after

the Games in late 2016), only one update has been issued. Called “Embracing Change,” it was

released in September 2014.82 It describes activities and progress made in the 2012-2013 period,

especially refinement of sustainability strategies contained in the 2013 Plan on topics such as

carbon management—Rio2016TM had a target of reducing Rio de Janeiro’s total carbon emissions

by 18.2% below 2011 levels by 2016; minimizing ecosystem impacts—through design and

avoidance; and waste management. On the latter issue, this report noted that all open dumpsites in

Rio de Janeiro were closed in 2012, and that the process for their environmental restoration had

begun. By late 2013, 3.7% of potentially recyclable waste was being diverted to recycling centers,

while the city’s target was to recycle 25% of wastes by 2016. Regarding water quality, the 2014

report said that the percentage of sewage receiving at least some level of treatment had increased

to 50% in 2013.

Progress toward water quality cleanup plans—or lack of progress—has continued to receive

widespread public attention. Watchdog groups say, for example, that official statistics on the

percentage of city sewage that is treated assume that all sewage treatment facilities are

functioning, an assumption that they believe is not correct.83 Since 2014, official estimates of the

percentage of the city’s sewage that will be receiving treatment by the start of the 2016 Games

have dropped—from 80% receiving secondary treatment in the 2009 bid for the Games, to 50%

receiving some treatment early in 2014, to 30% in early 2016. Some officials now estimate that it

could take five to six more years to attain the 80% target, although Rio de Janeiro’s Governor

Luiz Fernando Pezao said in October 2015 that Guanabara Bay will not be cleaned up until

2035.84

Health Implications for Athletes

Approximately 1,700 athletes are expected to participate in events at the Copacabana Zone sites.

Throughout 2015, many U.S. and other countries’ athletes visited Rio de Janeiro to train and

familiarize themselves with conditions and facilities. Athletes reported seeing massive amounts of

Ibid., p. 46.

Rio 2016, Embracing Change, Rio 2016 Sustainability Report, September 2014, at https://www.rio2016.com/

transparencia/sites/default/files/rio_2016_sustainability_report_sept2014.pdf.

RioOnWatch, “Three Months to Go: Checking in on Rio’s Olympic Legacy Promises,” May 5, 2016, at

http://www.rioonwatch.org/?p=28371.

David Biller, “Brazil Probe Targets Olympic Sailing Bay Sewage Plants,” Bloomberg BNA, Daily Environment

Report, vol. 68 (April 8, 2016), p. A-14; Jenny Barchfield, “Rio Rules Out Viral Testing of Sewage-filled Olympic

Waters, Citing WHO Recommendations,” U.S. News and World Report, October 15, 2015, at http://www.usnews.com/

news/sports/articles/2015/10/16/rio-2016-no-viral-testing-of-sewage-filled-olympic-waters.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

large debris in Guanabara Bay and other waters—including mattresses, cars, washing machines,

trees, tables, televisions, couches, and chairs, as well as dead animals.85 The Rio de Janeiro state

government pledged to install eco-barriers, to catch refuse flowing down rivers, and to employ

“eco-boats” that sweep the bay picking up garbage to avoid disrupting competitions during the

Games.

In addition to waste that athletes could see in the water came reports of pollutant contamination.

Some athletes reportedly got sick at training and test events in 2015, but none of the cases was

definitively connected to the water, as opposed to food or another source. In July 2015, the

Associated Press (AP) released findings of a five-month investigation and analysis of water

quality at sites where Olympics and Paralympics competitions will be held. The AP investigation

tested for rotavirus, which is the most common cause of gastroenteritis, as well as three different

strains of adenoviruses, each of which acts as a signpost for human waste in waterbodies. AP said

that its tests, which were the first independent comprehensive testing at the Olympic sites,

revealed “dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria” above Brazilian or World Health

Organization standards.86

The AP’s focus on viruses complicated controversies and publicity that followed release of the

report, because neither Brazil nor the WHO (nor the United States) has adopted water quality

standards that establish safe levels for viruses in recreational or other waters. Brazilian, WHO,

and U.S. standards and water quality criteria are based on bacterial indicators of fecal

contamination (enterococci and E. coli). Although enteric viruses are currently tested in some

places as water quality indicators, and some water experts believe that governments should adopt

viral as well as bacterial testing to determine whether recreational waters are safe, most scientists

believe that testing for viruses has yet to be successfully implemented in routine monitoring of

water quality.87

In response to the AP report, Rio2016™ and IOC officials said that the health and welfare of

athletes is always a top priority and that bacterial testing has shown that water quality meets

relevant international standards.88 As noted, there are no international standards for the viral

indicators that were included in the AP’s analyses. The IOC said that it had no plans to conduct its

own water quality tests. The WHO, which acts in an advisory role to the IOC, took several

different positions on whether or not viral testing should be carried out, ultimately stating in

October 2015 that it did not feel that Olympic officials needed to conduct routine viral testing.

The WHO statement added that it was not “unconcerned with viral pathogens in water” and that

water quality and monitoring would continue to be discussed in relation to the 2016 Games.89

Swimming’s governing body, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), called for virus

John Clarke, “Sailing Through the Trash and Sewage of Guanabara Bay,” The New Yorker, July 22, 2015, at

http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/sailing-through-the-trash-and-sewage-of-guanabara-bay.

Brad Brooks and Jenny Barchfield, “AP Investigation: Olympic Teams to Swim, Boat in Rio’s Filth,” June 30, 2015,

at http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d92f6af5121f49d982601a657d745e95/ap-investigation-rios-olympic-water-rife-sewagevirus.

Erin Allmann Updyke, Zi Wang, and Si Sun, et al., “Human Enteric Viruses—Potential Indicators for Enhanced

Monitoring of Recreational Water Quality,” Virologica Sinica, vol. 30, no. 5 (October 2015), pp. 344-353.

David McDaid, “Rio 2016: World Sailing Hopeful of Water Quality Improvement,” December 16, 2015, at

http://www.bbc.com/sport/sailing/35112607.

Brad Brooks, “'An Extreme Environment’: Tests Find Rio 2016 Olympic Waterways Highly Contaminated by

Sewage, Even Far Offshore,” December 2, 2015, at http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/rio-2016/an-extremeenvironment-tests-find-rio-2016-olympic-waterways-highly-contaminated-by-sewage-even-far-offshore.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

testing in September 2015, and sailing’s world governing body, the International Sailing

Federation (ISAF), also said that it could support viral testing.90

Athletes who might be exposed to contaminated water during the Games have offered mixed

responses. Some said that they are concerned about even brief exposure to waters of Guanabara

Bay; some sailors said that they will adopt protocols such as getting multiple vaccinations and

washing themselves with bleach after competing. Others have said that they believe the issue has

been overblown and that athletes typically face potential health risks in many places where they

compete.91 USOC officials and organizations that represent athletes have said that individual

athletes can choose whether or not to participate in the Games if they are concerned about these

issues.

Finally, press reports in April 2016 said that Brazilian federal police are investigating Rio de

Janeiro’s state utility, Companhia Estadual de Águas e Esgotos (CEDAE), for allegations of fraud

at its sewage treatment plants around Guanabara Bay. The police investigations were said to be

part of a year-long probe that is targeting the water and sewage utility for pollution from

treatment plants and possibly charging for services that it is not adequately providing, which, if

proven, would constitute fraud.92

Environmental Legacy of Hosting the Olympics

The benefits of hosting an Olympics Games often include acceleration of a wide range of existing

plans, projects, investments, and activities. Rio de Janeiro’s expectations in this regard are evident

in the 2013 Sustainability Management Plan and other documents that discuss using the

opportunity of the Games to benefit the city by improving environmental conditions and practices

and incorporating sustainability policies and ethic into the city’s future. Most analysts see the

biggest gains from hosting an Olympics to be urban upgrades that otherwise would occur over a

longer term, if at all.

Some believe that it is an obligation of an Olympics hosting city to improve its environmental

conditions.93 It is also believed that countries’ hosting bids are greatly bolstered when they

include major “green” or sustainability pledges. However, once the event is awarded, there are

few, if any, consequences for countries if they do not follow through—despite the IOC’s

statements that commitments are binding.94

Some observers expect that the environmental legacy of Rio2016™ may be viewed as having

positive and negative implications for Brazil, such as public transportation and at least partially

improved sewage treatment on the positive side, but other outcomes that are less clear. When the

2016 Summer Games were awarded in 2009, some feared that development pressures associated

with the construction would harm nearby natural environments such as the biologically rich

Jenny Barchfield, “Rio Rules Out Viral Testing of Sewage-filled Olympic Waters, Citing WHO Recommendations,”

U.S. News and World Report, October 15, 2015, at http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2015/10/16/rio-2016no-viral-testing-of-sewage-filled-olympic-waters.

Liz Clarke, “U.S. Athletes Focused on Medals, Not Polluted Water, Ahead of Rio Olympics,” Washington Post,

March 10, 2016, pp. D1, D9.

David Biller, “Brazil Probe Targets Olympic Sailing Bay Sewage Plants,” Bloomberg BNA, Daily Environment

Report, vol. 68 (April 8, 2016), p. A-14.

Simon Worrall, “Will the Olympics Make Things Better or Worse for Rio?” National Geographic, August 19, 2015.

Jason Plautz, “Brazil Made Big Environmental Promises for Its Rio Olympics. Here’s Why It Won't Keep Them,”

The Atlantic, July 2, 2014, at http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/brazil-made-big-environmentalpromises-for-its-rio-olympics-heres-why-it-wont-keep-them/452784/.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Atlantic Forest and Coastal regions95 and increase the city’s population, especially by expanding

favelas, urban slums where nearly one-quarter of its inhabitants live.96 Reportedly, well-financed

efforts to clean up Rio de Janeiro’s waters have proved disappointing for decades, undercut by

mismanagement and allegations of corruption.97

All Olympic Games have glitches and receive skeptical press ahead of time, and the 2016 Games

are no exception. In the weeks immediately ahead of the start of the Games, activist organizations

that have been tracking developments say that some promised objectives are succeeding—for

example, urban renewal and public transport—but that environmental and sanitation goals will be

missed. They report that the promise to plant 24 million trees has been abandoned, and projects

needed to mitigate untreated sewage discharges—one of the highest pre-Games priorities—are

incomplete; overall, none of the major environmental projects linked to the Olympics will be

completed before the Games. Once the deadline of the start of the 2016 Games has passed,

international pressure to finish those projects is likely to disappear.98 For now, the environmental

legacy of the 2016 Games for Rio de Janeiro remains to be determined.

Implications of the Olympics for Brazil99

In 2009, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Brazil would host the

2016 Summer Games, then-President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hailed the decision as

recognition of Brazil’s arrival as a “first-class country,” stating, “Today we received the respect

that people are already starting to show to Brazil.”100 As the fifth-largest and fifth most populous

country in the world, Brazil has long sought recognition as a global power, and at the time it was

awarded the Olympics, it appeared to be on the verge of finally realizing its ambitions. During the

previous decade, a boom in global commodity prices fueled a period of rapid economic growth

that—combined with the Lula Administration’s social policies—significantly reduced poverty

and inequality and lifted 36 million Brazilians into the middle class.101 Brazil’s international

stature grew along with its economy as the Brazilian government used increased revenues to

expand its diplomatic presence and leveraged its economic clout to assert Brazilian influence on

global matters ranging from trade to climate change. Like President Lula, many international

observers viewed Brazil’s successful bids for the 2016 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup as a

confirmation of the country’s rise.102

See http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/southamerica/brazil/placesweprotect/atlantic-forest.xml.

David Cleary, “What Do the Olympics Mean for Rio’s Environment?” November 3, 2009, at http://blog.nature.org/

conservancy/2009/11/03/what-do-the-olympics-mean-for-rios-environment/.

Simon Romero and Christopher Clarey, “Note to Olympic Sailors: Don't Fall in Rio’s Waters,” New York Times,

May 19, 2014, p. A1, New York edition.

RioOnWatch, “Three Months to Go: Checking in on Rio’s Olympic Legacy Promises,” May 5, 2016, at

http://www.rioonwatch.org/?p=28371.

For more information on Brazil, see CRS Report RL33456, Brazil: Background and U.S. Relations, by (name red

acted) .

100

Jonathan Wheatley, Roger Blitz, and Andrew Downie, “Rio Goes Wild as Lula’s Lobbying Pays Off,” Financial

Times, October 2, 2009.

101

Marcelo Cortes Neri, Os Emergentes dos Emergentes: Reflexões Globais e Ações para a Nova Classe Média

Brasileira, Fundação Getulio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro, June 27, 2011, p.11.

102

Stuart Grudgings, “Olympics Affirms Brazil’s Rise, Lula Legacy,” Reuters, October 2, 2009; Eduardo J. Gomez,

“Foreign Policy: Why Brazil Won the 2016 Olympics,” National Public Radio, October 5, 2009.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Brazil’s international image has been battered in recent years, however, as the country has

struggled to address deepening economic and political crises.103 Economic growth began to slow

as commodity prices declined. President Dilma Rousseff’s economic policies exacerbated the

situation, contributing to rising inflation and fiscal deficits and declining consumer and investor

confidence. Brazil’s economy contracted by 3.8% in 2015 and is projected to contract by 3.3%

this year.104 Some of the Brazilians who joined the middle class during the boom years have fallen

back into poverty as unemployment has risen to 11.2%.105

At the same time, a sprawling corruption investigation involving the diversion of public sector

funds to political campaigns and politicians has implicated prominent business leaders and much

of the political class. The Brazilian Congress has sought to channel the resulting citizen

discontent into an effort to impeach President Rousseff, ostensibly for violations of the country’s

fiscal responsibility law; Rousseff is currently suspended from office in order to stand trial. While

some Brazilians and international observers view Rousseff’s impeachment as a necessary first

step to address the economic and political crises, others view it as an illegitimate attempt to

remove a left-leaning president and install a more conservative administration that will protect

Brazilian legislators from the ongoing corruption probe. These economic and political setbacks

have damaged the country’s reputation as a successful and socially inclusive democracy and

weakened its international influence.

The 2016 Olympics will place a spotlight on Brazil, drawing renewed international attention to

the country’s potential as well as its challenges. The new Brazilian administration led by Interim

President Michel Temer views the Summer Games as an opportunity to demonstrate the country’s

credibility on the international stage.106 If Brazil is able to host a successful Olympics despite the

country’s recent setbacks, it may be able to regain some of the prestige it may have lost in recent

years. Alternatively, failures to complete construction on facilities and infrastructure, properly

plan for logistics, or take appropriate precautions to protect the security and health of the athletes

and fans attending the Games would likely further erode the country’s international image.

The Olympics also could have political implications for Interim President Temer and the

politicians governing the city of Rio de Janeiro and Rio de Janeiro state. Temer is expected to

carry out official host duties during the Games as the acting head of state, and while domestic

support for his administration likely will depend on its ability to resolve the country’s economic

and political crises, the Olympics could improve domestic and international perceptions of

Temer’s legitimacy and strengthen his hold on the presidency. On the other hand, any problems

that emerge would likely be blamed on Temer and his political party, which controls the city and

state governments of Rio de Janeiro.

Investments related to the 2016 Olympics are expected to total at least $11.9 billion (R$39.1

billion), using current exchange rates.107 This includes nearly $2.2 billion (R$7.1 billion) for

Olympic venues, $2.3 billion (R$7.4 billion) for the Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the

Olympic Games, and $7.5 billion (R$24.6 billion) for infrastructure improvements,

103

For more information, see CRS Insight IN10471, Brazil in Crisis, by (name redacted)

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Update, June 19, 2016.

105

Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, “PNAD Contínua: Taxa de Desocupação Fica Em 11,2% no Trimestre

em Encerrado em Maio de 2016,” press release, June 29, 2016.

106

Javier Tovar, “Olympics will Restore Brazil ‘Credibility’: New Sports Minister,” Agence France Presse, May 19,

2016.

107

The monetary figures in this paragraph were generated using an exchange rate of 1 U.S. dollar to 3.2783 Brazilian

reais.

104

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

environmental cleanup efforts, and other so-called legacy projects. Other costs related to the

Summer Games, such as additional security personnel, have yet to be determined.108 About 57%

of the total has been financed with private resources while 22% has been financed by the state

government, 12% by the local government, and 9% by the national government.109

Many Brazilians view public expenditures on the Olympics as wasteful given the country’s

difficult financial situation and considerable social disparities. The Temer Administration is

currently considering cuts to Brazil’s pension system and other social services as part of its efforts

to reduce the national government’s ballooning budget deficit. Likewise, Rio de Janeiro state,

which has already cut expenditures steeply, declared a state of “public calamity” on June 17,

warning that the government’s lack of finances could “lead to the total collapse of public security,

health, education, mobility and environmental management.”110 Reports that some Olympic funds

were siphoned off by corruption have further bolstered critics of the Games.111 Economic analysts

assert that the Summer Games may deliver a temporary boost in tax revenues for Rio de Janeiro’s

local government but are unlikely to have much of an impact on the broader Brazilian economy.

According to Moody’s Investors Service, “the key benefit of the 2016 Olympics for the city of

Rio will be lasting transport infrastructure improvements” that will reduce traffic congestion and

potentially lower business costs.112 The impact and sustainability of those infrastructure projects

remains to be seen, however, as efforts to improve Rio de Janeiro’s sewage system appear to have

done little to clean up the city’s polluted waterways and a bike path that was constructed as a

legacy project of the Games recently collapsed.113 Some observers have also called into question

the value of the infrastructure improvements, asserting that the funds could have been better

invested in upgrading the overburdened infrastructure that Rio de Janeiro residents use on a daily

basis.114 Moreover, human rights advocates maintain that more than 4,100 families have been

displaced in Rio de Janeiro as a result of projects associated with hosting the Olympics and World

Cup.115 According to a July 2016 poll, 63% of Brazilians think the Olympics will bring more

costs than benefits for the nation’s citizens.116

Doping117

In the run-up to the 2016 Rio Games, American athletes, as well as athletes from other nations,

expressed concerns about doping and whether the organizations charged with protecting clean

108

Marcio Dolzan, “Custo do Rio-2016 Aumenta R$400 mi e chega a R$39,07 bi,” Estado de São Paulo, January 29,

2016.

109

CRS calculations based on data from the Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games at

https://www.rio2016.com/transparencia/en/budget and the Autoridade Pública Olímpica at http://www.apo.gov.br/

index.php/home-eng/.

110

Italo Nogueira, “Rio Declares State of Public Calamity Over Financial Crisis and the Olympics,” Folha de São

Paulo, June 17, 2016.

111

“Brazil Olympic Venues Targeted in Corruption Probe,” Reuters, May 25, 2016.

112

Moody’s Investors Service, 2016 Olympics – Rio de Janeiro: Games Offer Lasting Benefits for City but Only Brief

Gains for Brazilian Companies, May 16, 2016.

113

“Brazilian Police Probe Whether Water Utility Treats Sewage,” Associated Press, April 8, 2016; “Bike Bath,

Heralded as Olympic Legacy, Collapses in Brazil,” Associated Press, April 22, 2016.

114

“Brazil: Rio Declares Public State of Calamity,” Latin American Weekly Report, June 23, 2016.

115

World Cup and Olympics Popular Committee, Rio 2016: The Exclusion Games, November 2015, p. 36.

116

Datafolha, “Rejeição Dobra e Metade dos Brasileiros é contra Olimpíada,” July 19, 2016.

117

Prepared by (name redacted), Specialist in American National Government.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

athletes were up to the task. Prompting this surge of concern were revelations that the Russian

track and field team engaged in a doping scheme orchestrated by the Russian Athletic Federation

(RusAF; Russia’s national governing body [NGB] for track and field)118 and the perception, if not

reality, that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)119 was slow to respond when first made

aware of the allegations in 2010, as reported by both the New York Times and the television show

60 Minutes.120 The New York Times reported there had been “[m]ultiple warnings about Russia”

and doping over the years and suggested that possible conflicts of interest might have played a

role in WADA’s initially tepid response.121 Concerns that other Russian sports might be similarly

tainted by state-orchestrated doping were validated in July 2016 with the publication of another

WADA-initiated report that described, among other things, how Russian sports organizations and

authorities tampered with Russian athletes’ samples during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi,

Russia.122

Although the U.S. government is not directly involved in WADA or its anti-doping efforts, it does

provide support to the agency. As a signatory to the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in

Sport, the United States is committed to supporting WADA and the World Anti-Doping Code

(Code), which includes providing financial support through membership dues.123 Beginning with

a payment in 2003 and through 2016, the United States has paid approximately $25 million to

WADA.124

118

Prior to January 2016, this organization was known as the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF). A press release

dated November 28, 2015, refers to “ARAF” while a January 1, 2016, press release from the same website

(http://eng.rusathletics.com) refers to “RusAF.” Russian Athletics, “Meeting of ARAF Council,” press release,

November 28, 2015, at http://eng.rusathletics.com/nov/news.15137.htm; Russian Athletics, “Meeting of RusAF

Presidium,” press release, January 16, 2016, at http://eng.rusathletics.com/nov/news.15210.htm. For the sake of

consistency, this report will refer to the “Russian Athletic Federation” and RusAF, except for instances where “AllRussia Athletic Federation” or “ARAF” appear in a citation or quoted material.

119

WADA is an independent, international organization whose “key activities include scientific research, education,

development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code (Code)—the document

harmonizing anti-doping policies in all sports and all countries.” World Anti-Doping Agency, “Who We Are,” at

https://www.wada-ama.org/en/who-we-are.

120

Additional, detailed information regarding these concerns is presented in the following subsection. The Appendix

contains a list of acronyms used in this section of the report.

121

Rebecca R. Ruiz, Juliet Macur, and Ian Austen, “Even with Confession of Cheating, World’s Doping Watchdog Did

Nothing,” New York Times, June 15, 2016.

122

The key findings of the report, dated July 18, 2016, implicate the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, the Sochi

Laboratory, and Russia’s Ministry of Sport in doping activities. Richard H. McLaren, Independent Person in Sochi

Investigation, The Independent Person Report, July 18, 2016, at https://wada-main-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/resources/

files/20160718_ip_report_final3.pdf.

123

Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sport, n.d., at https://wada-main-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/resources/

files/WADA_Copenhagen_Declaration_EN.pdf. The Copenhagen Declaration was prepared by many nations’

governments. As WADA notes on its website, “[m]any governments cannot be legally bound by a non-governmental

document such as the World Anti-Doping Code (Code). Accordingly, governments prepared the Copenhagen

Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sport, a political document through which they signaled their intention to formally

recognize and implement the Code through an international treaty.” World Anti-Doping Agency, “Governments,” at

https://www.wada-ama.org/en/governments. The list of signatories to the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in

Sport is available at https://www.wada-ama.org/en/copenhagen-declaration-list-of-signatories.

124

Executive Office of the President, National Drug Control Strategy FY 2005 Budget Summary, March 2004, p. 90, at

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/FY2005-Budget-Summary-March-2004.pdf;

Executive Office of the President, National Drug Control Strategy FY 2006 Budget Summary, February 2005, p. 92, at

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/FY2006-Budget-Summary-February-2005.pdf;

Executive Office of the President, National Drug Control Strategy FY 2007 Budget Summary, February 2006, p. 98, at

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/FY2007-Budget-Summary-February-2006.pdf;

Executive Office of the President, National Drug Control Strategy FY 2008 Budget Summary, February 2007, p. 107, at

(continued...)

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

The allegations involving Russia and WADA’s anti-doping role have drawn the attention of the

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on

Energy and Commerce. In a June 20, 2016, letter addressed to the president of WADA, the

chairman of the Senate committee noted that WADA had been made aware, in 2010, that Russian

athletes were involved in a government-sanctioned doping scheme; that WADA’s independence

had been called into question; and that representatives of Olympic athletes had called upon

WADA to expand its investigation to other sports in Russia and other countries.125 The House

Committee on Energy and Commerce raised similar concerns in a July 12, 2016, letter to the

President of the IOC while acknowledging the work that the IOC and WADA have done to

enhance their efforts to ensure athletes compete in doping-free sports. One of the challenges

identified by the committee is that “neither [WADA nor the IOC] is functionally organized to

achieve [the goal of eradicating doping in sport].”126

The Russian Athletics Federation and Doping

On December 3, 2014, a documentary aired on German television alleging “the existence of a

sophisticated and well established system of state-sponsored doping with the All-Russia Athletics

Federation (ARAF).”127 In the aftermath of the documentary, WADA formed an Independent

Commission (IC) to investigate. The investigation, which began in January 2015, concluded with

the publication of two reports, the first of which focused on the allegations presented in the

(...continued)

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/FY2008-Budget-Summary-February-2007.pdf;

Executive Office of the President, National Drug Control Strategy FY 2009 Budget Summary, February 2008, p. 119, at

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/FY2009-Budget-Summary-February-2008.pdf;

Executive Office of the President, National Drug Control Strategy FY 2010 Budget Summary, May 2009, p. 137, at

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/fy10budget.pdf; Executive Office of the

President, National Drug Control Strategy FY 2011 Budget Summary, 2010, p. 157, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/

sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/fy11budget.pdf; Executive Office of the President, FY 2012 Budget and

Performance Summary, Companion to the National Drug Control Strategy, April 2011, p. 217, at

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/FY2012-Budget-and-Performance-Summary-April2011.pdf; Executive Office of the President, FY 2013 Budget and Performance Summary, Companion to the National

Drug Control Strategy, April 2012, p. 221, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/

fy2013_drug_control_budget_and_performance_summary.pdf; Executive Office of the President, FY 2014 Budget and

Performance Summary, Companion to the National Drug Control Strategy, April 2013, p. 235, at

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/fy2014_budget_and_performance-summary.pdf;

Executive Office of the President, FY 2015 Budget and Performance Summary, Companion to the National Drug

Control Strategy, July 2014, p. 239, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/about-content/

fy2015_summary.pdf; Executive Office of the President, FY 2016 Budget and Performance Summary, Companion to

the National Drug Control Strategy, November 2015, p. 231, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/

policy-and-research/fy_2016_budget_summary.pdf. All of the amounts used in calculating the total are the actual

amounts paid except for FY2015 ($2.00 million was the amount in the bill that was enacted) and FY2016 ($2.06

million was the amount requested). Ibid.

125

Letter from John Thune, Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to Sir Craig

Reedie, CBE, President, World Anti-Doping Agency, June 20, 2016, pp. 2-5, at https://www.commerce.senate.gov/

public/_cache/files/4bffa8b6-a87d-4b72-a17e-22511f34d3d8/1ECF41B6AB25AB09371463BEA1B5168B.jrt-letter-towada—-final.pdf.

126

Letter from Fred Upton, Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, et al. to Thomas Bach, President,

International Olympic Committee, July 12, 2016.

127

World Anti-Doping Agency, Independent Commission, The Independent Commission Report #1, Final Report,

November 9, 2015, p. 2, at https://wada-main-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/resources/files/

wada_independent_commission_report_1_en.pdf.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

German television documentary.128 The November 2015 report’s findings are summarized as

follows:129

1. A “deeply rooted culture of cheating” exists, meaning “the acceptance of

cheating at all levels is widespread and longstanding.”

2. The exploitation of athletes is acceptable, which has resulted in “unethical

behaviours and practices ... becom[ing] the norm.”

3. Many Russian athletes have participated in the “consistent and systematic use of

performance enhancing drugs.”

4. Doctors, coaches, and laboratory personnel have been involved in systematic

cheating.130

The report included two notable caveats. Although there were “reliable indications” that other

sports in Russia had doping problems, the IC stated these sports were outside the scope of what it

had been directed to investigate.131 The commission also stated that, “in its considered view,

Russia is not the only country, nor track and field the only sport, facing the problem of

orchestrated doping in sport.”132

Publication of the report in November 2015 was immediately followed by responses from the

Council of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which is the

international federation (IF) for track and field, and WADA. The IAAF “provisionally suspended

the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) [RusAF] as an IAAF Member with immediate

effect.”133 A significant consequence of this suspension is the prohibition on RusAF athletes and

support personnel from competing in international competitions, including the Olympic

Games.134

128

Publication of the IC’s second report “was delayed to avoid possible interference” with an investigation by the

French authorities. Additionally, the second report covers developments that occurred following the release of the IC’s

first report, including allegations made by the media that the IAAF’s anti-doping activities were inadequate. World

Anti-Doping Agency, Independent Commission, The Independent Commission Report #2, January 14, 2016, p. 1, at

https://wada-main-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/resources/files/

wada_independent_commission_report_2_2016_en_rev.pdf.

129

Although documentation of RusAF’s doping activities (and other Russian organizations’ involvement) was made

publicly available in November 2015, the transcript of a 60 Minutes interview with two of the whistleblowers and

several New York Times and Washington Post articles indicate that WADA was made aware of the allegations possibly

as early as 2009 or 2010. Will Hobson, “Alerted to Doping in ‘10, WADA Didn't Investigate,” Washington Post, June

3, 2016, p. A10; Ruiz, Macur, and Austen, “Even with Confession of Cheating, World’s Doping Watchdog Did

Nothing”; Armen Keteyian, “Russian Doping at Sochi Winter Olympics Exposed,” 60 Minutes, transcript, May 8, 2016

(air date), at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-doping-at-sochi-winter-olympics-exposed/. In defending itself

from criticism that it was slow to act initially when contacted by Vitaly Stepanov, reportedly WADA has indicated that,

at the time, it had neither the authority, nor sufficient resources, to conduct investigations. Ruiz, Macur, and Austen,

“Even with Confession of Cheating, World’s Doping Watchdog Did Nothing.”

130

World Anti-Doping Agency, Independent Commission, The Independent Commission Report #1, Final Report, pp.

10-11.

131

Ibid., p. 35.

132

World Anti-Doping Agency, Independent Commission, The Independent Commission Report #1, Final Report, p.

35.

133

International Association of Athletics Federations, “IAAF Provisionally Suspends Russian Member Federation

ARAF,” November 13, 2015, press release, at http://www.iaaf.org/news/press-release/iaaf-araf-suspended.

134

The IAAF’s decision provided two circumstances under which a Russian track and field athlete could apply to the

IAAF for permission to compete in international competitions as a “neutral athlete.” International Association of

Athletics Federations, “RusAF Has Not Met Reinstatement Conditions.” However, the IOC subsequently determined

that the Olympic Charter does not provide for an individual to be recognized as a “neutral athlete.” International

(continued...)

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

WADA’s response was to suspend provisionally the Moscow Antidoping Center; recommend that

the head of the center, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, be permanently removed (he immediately

resigned); and assess the compliance of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) with the

World Anti-Doping Code.135 In a separate, subsequent press release, WADA announced that

RUSADA was not in compliance with the Code.136

In June 2016, the IAAF Council met to consider whether RusAF had satisfied the reinstatement

conditions.137 The IAAF Taskforce’s report to the council stated that several verification criteria

had not been met and included several recommendations, all of which were accepted by the IAAF

Council. Concurring with the taskforce’s recommendations, the IAAF decided that RusAF should

not be reinstated, a decision that was supported by both the IOC and WADA, and that no other

RusAF personnel (such as officials and athlete support personnel) be allowed to take part in

international competitions or the IAAF while RusAF is suspended.138

In July 2016, the Russian Olympic Committee and individual Russian track and field athletes

filed requests for arbitration with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the IAAF’s

decisions. The CAS arbitration panel ruled in favor of the IAAF, thus upholding the ban on

Russia’s track and field athletes.139

2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and Doping

Several months after WADA released the IC’s report, allegations surfaced in the media regarding

a doping scheme to benefit Russian athletes during the Sochi Games.140 On May 19, 2016, the

(...continued)

Olympic Committee, “Decision of the IOC Executive Board Concerning the Participation of Russian Athletes in the

Olympic Games Rio 2016,” press release, July 24, 2016, at https://www.olympic.org/news/decision-of-the-iocexecutive-board-concerning-the-participation-of-russian-athletes-in-the-olympic-games-rio-2016.

135

World Anti-Doping Agency, “WADA Takes Immediate Action on Key Recommendations of Independent

Commission,” press release, November 13, 2015, at https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/2015-11/wada-takesimmediate-action-on-key-recommendations-of-independent-commission.

136

World Anti-Doping Agency, “Foundation Board Media Release: WADA Strengthens Anti-Doping Worldwide,”

November 18, 2015, at https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/2015-11/foundation-board-media-release-wadastrengthens-anti-doping-worldwide. Several months later, WADA revoked the accreditation of the Moscow Antidoping

Center because of its failure to comply with WADA’s International Standard for Laboratories, which means the center

is prohibited from conducting any doping tests on behalf of WADA or any other testing authority. World Anti-Doping

Agency, “WADA Revokes Accreditation of Moscow Laboratory,” press release, April 15, 2016, at https://www.wadaama.org/en/media/news/2016-04/wada-revokes-accreditation-of-moscow-laboratory.

137

The reinstatement conditions and criteria are available at http://www.iaaf.org/news/press-release/araf-reinstatementverification-criteria.

138

International Association of Athletics Federations, “RusAF Has Not Met Reinstatement Conditions,” press release,

June 17, 2016, at http://www.iaaf.org/news/press-release/iaaf-council-meeting-vienna; International Olympic

Committee, “Statement by the IOC Executive Board,” press release, June 18, 2016, at https://www.olympic.org/news/

statement-by-the-ioc-executive-board-1; World Anti-Doping Agency, “WADA Supports IAAF Decision to Maintain

Russian Athletics Federation Suspension,” press release, June 17, 2016, at https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/

2016-06/wada-supports-iaaf-decision-to-maintain-russian-athletics-federation-suspension..

139

Tribunal Arbitral du Sport/Court of Arbitration for Sport, “Athletics – Olympic Games Rio 2016,” media release,

July 21, 2016, at http://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Media_Release_4684_210716.pdf. Established in 1984,

the CAS is an independent organization that provides services to facilitate the settlement of disputes involving sports,

whether of a criminal nature of a disciplinary nature. Tribunal Arbitral du Sport/Court of Arbitration for Sport,

“Frequently Asked Questions,” at http://www.tas-cas.org/en/general-information/frequently-asked-questions.html.

140

Armen Keteyian, “Russian Doping at Sochi Winter Olympics Exposed,” 60 Minutes, transcript, May 8, 2016 (air

date), at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-doping-at-sochi-winter-olympics-exposed/; Rebecca R. Ruiz and

Michael Schwirtz, “Russian Insider Says State-Run Doping Fueled Olympic Gold,” New York Times, May 12, 2016.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

President of WADA announced that Professor Richard H. McLaren would lead the

investigation.141 The key findings of Professor McLaren’s report, known as the Independent

Person (IP) Report and dated July 18, 2016, implicate the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, the

Sochi Laboratory, and Russia’s Ministry of Sport in doping activities.142 In addition to

documenting the “urine sample swapping scheme” that was implemented during the Sochi

Games, the IP Report uncovered what it called the “Disappearing Positive Methodology,” which

it characterized as “a State directed method [implemented] following the very abysmal medal

count” by Russian athletes at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.143 As documented in the IP

Report, the Russian Deputy Minister of Sport would review positive test results provided by the

Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory and issue an order, SAVE or QUARANTINE, to the laboratory

for each result.144 A SAVE order meant that the laboratory was to stop the analytical process and

report to WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) that the

sample was negative. A QUARANTINE order directed the laboratory to continue processing the

sample. The IP Report states that, generally, the SAVE order was used for athletes who “tended to

be medal winners or athletes of promise,” while the QUARANTINE order was used for

“[f]oreign athletes, or Russian athletes deemed unpromising.”145 The Disappearing Positive

Methodology was used “from at least late 2011 to August 2015 ... and affected athletes from all

sport disciplines whose urine samples were being analyzed by the Moscow Laboratory.”146

Ramifications of the IC Report and IP Report

Russian Athletes

In the aftermath of the release of the IC Report and the IP Report, on July 24, 2016, the IOC

issued conditions Russian athletes must meet to be eligible to compete in Rio de Janeiro.147 Chief

among these is an athlete’s anti-doping record, which may include “only reliable adequate

international tests.”148 Additionally, the international federations, which are responsible for

deciding which athletes are eligible to participate in the Olympic Games, have been advised by

the IOC that an absence of positive doping test results will not be considered sufficient in

establishing that an athlete has not doped.149 The IOC will accept a Russian athlete for

participation in the Rio Games only if the relevant IF “is satisfied that the evidence provided”

meets the IOC’s conditions and the IF’s determination is “upheld by an expert from the CAS list

141

World Anti-Doping Agency, “WADA Names Richard McLaren to Sochi Investigation Team,” press release, May

19, 2016, at https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/2016-05/wada-names-richard-mclaren-to-sochi-investigationteam.

142

Richard H. McLaren, Independent Person in Sochi Investigation, The Independent Person Report, July 18, 2016, at

https://wada-main-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/resources/files/20160718_ip_report_final3.pdf.

143

Ibid., p. 10.

144

Ibid., pp. 31-36. The code words (SAVE and QUARANTINE) are capitalized in the IP Report.

145

Ibid., p. 36.

146

Ibid., pp. 35-36.

147

Russia’s track and field athletes are still subject to the IAAF’s decision to not reinstate RusAF. See the section “The

Russian Athletics Federation and Doping.”

148

International Olympic Committee, “Decision of the IOC Executive Board Concerning the Participation of Russian

Athletes in the Olympic Games Rio 2016.”

149

Ibid. In this context, the word “national” appears to refer to analysis by a Russian doping laboratory. In making

eligibility determinations, the IFs are to apply the Code and the principles agreed to by the June 21, 2016, Olympic

Summit. The Olympic Summit’s statement is available at https://www.olympic.org/news/declaration-of-the-olympicsummit.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

of arbitrators.... ”150 Russian athletes who have been sanctioned previously for doping, or who are

unable to meet the IOC’s criteria, will not be allowed to compete in the 2016 Games.151

The consequences for the Russian Olympic Committee include an estimated 30% decrease in the

size of the Russian team competing in the 2016 Games. As announced by the IOC on August 4,

2016, the Russian Olympic team numbers 271 athletes; the original entry list for the ROC

included 389 athletes.152 The number of Russian athletes competing in Rio de Janeiro may

change, however. On August 8, 2016, CBS News reported that seven Russian swimmers who had

been banned initially from participating in the Rio Games are now permitted to compete although

“FINA has not fully explained why.”153 Reportedly, one of the Russian swimmers participated in a

100-meter breaststroke semifinal on August 7, 2016.154

Russia’s paralympic team has also been affected by the doping revelations. The International

Paralympic Committee (IPC) opened suspension proceedings against the Russian Paralympic

Committee (RPC) in late July.155 On August 7, 2016, the IPC announced it had suspended the

RPC, effective immediately. The suspension means the Russian Paralympic Committee is not

permitted to enter its athletes in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, which will be held September

7-18, 2016. However, the RPC may appeal the IPC’s decision and has 21 days (August 28, 2016)

to do so.156

Other Athletes

On June 21, 2016, the IOC convened an Olympic Summit for the purpose of ensuring “a level

playing field for all athletes participating” in the 2016 Games. Among other things, the IOC

advised IFs and national Olympic committees (NOCs; e.g., U.S. Olympic Committee) to take all

necessary actions to prevent “doped athletes” from participating in the 2016 Games, to broaden

their efforts to include sanctioning any athlete support personnel who are implicated in doping,

and to refrain from requesting accreditation for the Games for “any person currently implicated in

an anti-doping rule violation.”157 The Olympic Summit also stated that athletes from Russia and

Kenya are not entitled to the “presumption of innocence” because neither is in compliance with

the Code and “substantial allegations” exist regarding these countries’ sports organizations.158

Though it does not appear that the scope of Kenya’s doping problems approaches that of Russia’s,

Kenya has been beset by a series of issues. In November 2015, the IAAF Ethics Commission

150

Ibid.

152

International Olympic Committee, “IOC Review Panel Decides on the Participation of Russian Athletes at the

Olympic Games Rio 2016,” August 4, 2016, press release, at https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-review-panel-decideson-the-participation-of-russian-athletes-at-the-olympic-games-rio-2016.

153

“American Olympic Swimmer Calls Out ‘Drug Cheating’ Russian Champion,” CBSNEWS, August 8, 2016, at

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/doping-cheating-yulia-eifmova-lilly-king-olympics-rio-swimming-rivalry/.

154

Ibid.

155

International Paralympic Committee, “The IPC Opens Suspension Proceedings Against NPC Russia,” press release,

July 22, 2016, at https://www.paralympic.org/news/ipc-opens-suspension-proceedings-against-npc-russia.

156

International Paralympic Committee, “The IPC Suspends the Russian Paralympic Committee with Immediate

Effect,” August 7, 2016, press release, at https://www.paralympic.org/news/ipc-suspends-russian-paralympiccommittee-immediate-effect.

157

International Olympic Committee, “Declaration of the Olympic Summit, Five-Point Plan to Ensure a Level Playing

Field for Athletes at the Olympic Games Rio 2016,” press release, June 21, 2016, at https://www.olympic.org/news/

declaration-of-the-olympic-summit.

158

Ibid.

151

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

provisionally suspended three Kenyan track and field officials; the commission extended the

suspension on May 20, 2016.159 WADA declared, on May 12, 2016, that the Anti-Doping Agency

of Kenya is not compliant with the Code.160 Also in 2016, a news article reported that the chief

executive of Kenya’s track and field association, Athletics Kenya, solicited bribes from two

Kenyan athletes in return for reducing their suspensions for doping.161 A journalist for the New

York Times summarized Kenya’s problems as follows:

Kenya cannot assure the world that any of its athletes is drug-free, at least based on

evidence collected by its national antidoping program. World Anti-Doping Agency

officials say the Kenyan antidoping agency exists in name only. The government

established the agency in the past year [2015] but has yet to finance it, WADA officials

recently told [the journalist]. “There’s just no political will for it, even though they’ve

been encouraged, persuaded, cajoled by us,” David Howman, WADA’s director general,

said of WADA’s effort to help Kenya put antidoping measures into effect over the past

two-plus years. “It’s reached a crisis point, really.” 162

Re-testing of Samples from Previous Summer Olympics

In spring 2016, the IOC decided to re-test samples from the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2012

London Games.163 To date, two of the four rounds, or waves, of re-testing have taken place.

Focusing on athletes who might participate in the 2016 Rio Games, 454 samples obtained during

the 2008 Beijing Games were re-tested in the first round. The results indicated that 30 athletes

from 6 sports and 12 countries had tested positive.164 The second round involved re-testing 386

samples and yielded 30 positive results, 23 of which were from athletes who were awarded a

medal during the Beijing Olympics.165 These positive results were from four sports and eight

nations.166 On May 27, 2016, the IOC announced that, in the first round of re-testing, analysis of

159

International Association of Athletics Federations, “IAAF Ethics Commission Provisionally Suspends Kiplagat,

Okeyo, and Kinyua,” press release, November 30, 2015, at http://www.iaaf.org/news/press-release/iaaf-ethics-suspendkiplagat-okeyo-kinyua; Panel of the IAAF Ethics Board, International Association of Athletics Federations, Decision

Number 04/2016, June 29, 2016, at http://www.iaafethicsboard.org/Download/download?filename=d9c62df4-e2a0461f-8762-ca8c133ed2f1.pdf&urlslug=

Ethics%20Board%20Decision%20%E2%80%93%20JK%2C%20IK%2C%20DO%20%E2%80%93%20Decision%20

Number%2004%2F2016.

160

World Anti-Doping Agency, “WADA hears Calls for Tougher Consequences for Non-Compliance and Further

Investigations,” media release, May 12, 2016, at https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/2016-05/foundation-boardmedia-release-12-may-2016.

161

Associated Press, “2 Kenyan Athletes Accuse Executive of Seeking Bribes to Cut Their Bans,” New York Times,

February 10, 2016.

162

Juliet Macur, “Kenya Excels in Running but Lags in Antidoping,” New York Times, November 4, 2015.

163

International Olympic Committee, “Factsheet The Fight Against Doping and Promotion of Athletes’ Health,”

January 2014, p. 2, at https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Olympic-Studies-Centre/

List-of-Resources/Quick-references/Olympism-and-society/EN-Factsheet-The-fight-against-doping-and-promotion-ofathletes-health.pdf#_ga=1.66451943.879522158.1448460117. To enable additional testing (i.e., re-testing) as

technology advances and previously-unknown substances are identified, which may serve as a deterrent to athletes

tempted to cheat through doping, the IOC retains athletes’ samples for up to 10 years. International Olympic

Committee, “The IOC Takes Decisive Action to Protect the Clean Athletes – Doped Athletes from Beijing, London and

Sochi All Targeted,” press release, May 17, 2016, at http://www.olympic.org/news/the-ioc-takes-decisive-action-toprotect-the-clean-athletes-doped-athletes-from-beijing-london-and-sochi-all-targeted/249221.

164

International Olympic Committee, “Second Wave of Reanalysis Reveals Banned Substances in 45 Athletes from

Beijing and London,” press release, July 22, 2016, at https://www.olympic.org/news/second-wave-of-reanalysisreveals-banned-substances-in-45-athletes-from-beijing-and-london.

165

Ibid.

166

Ibid.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

265 samples from the 2012 London Games resulted in positive tests for 23 athletes from 5 sports

and 6 countries.167 The second round yielded 15 positive tests from a pool of 138 samples

involving 2 sports and 9 countries.168 To summarize, the re-analysis of 1,243 samples from the

Beijing and London Games in rounds one and two resulted in 98 positive tests.

Other Athletes’ Concerns

The implications of this situation, including the IC Report and the IP Report, extend beyond the

consequences for Russian sports organizations, athletes, and officials. Other athletes (in

particular, non-Russian athletes) have a vested interest in the outcomes of the investigation and

related matters.

Following the release of the IC report in November 2015 and prior to the IAAF’s June 2016

decision to uphold the suspension of RusAF, several organizations that represent the interests of

Olympic athletes shared their concerns with the heads of the IOC and WADA. Generally, the

representatives of the athletes organizations, in separate communications, expressed

dissatisfaction with WADA’s or the IOC’s actions, and advocated for both organizations to do

more to protect clean athletes and to protect sports in all countries.169 A common theme was the

call for an expanded investigation into other countries and other Russian sports.170 As the chair of

the WADA’s Athlete Committee stated in a speech, the IC’s report noted the “complete and utter

implausibility” of the orchestrated doping system in Russia serving only track and field

athletes.171 One month prior to the IAAF’s decision on RusAF, the chairs of the IOC’s Athletes’

Commission and WADA’s Athlete Committee expressed, in a letter to the presidents of the IOC

and WADA, their shared constituency’s perspective: “... [A]t this time athlete confidence in the

Anti-Doping system, in WADA, and in the IOC has been shattered.”172

While the IAAF’s decision to suspend RusAF—thus prohibiting Russian track and field athletes

from competing in the 2016 Games—was welcomed by the IOC Athletes Commission and the

WADA Athlete Committee,173 it remains to be seen how athletes respond to the IOC’s decision

167

International Olympic Committee, “Reanalysis Reveals Banned Substances in 23 ‘A’ Samples from London 2012,”

press release, May 27, 2016, at https://www.olympic.org/news/reanalysis-reveals-banned-substances-in-23-a-samplesfrom-london-2012.

168

International Olympic Committee, “Second Wave of Reanalysis Reveals Banned Substances in 45 Athletes from

Beijing and London.”

169

Sarah Konrad, Chair, USOC Athletes’ Advisory Council, letter to Thomas Bach, President, International Olympic

Committee, and Sir Craig Reedie, President, World Anti-Doping Agency, January 25, 2016; Beckie Scott, Chair,

Athlete Committee, World Anti-Doping Agency, letter to Sir Craig Reedie, President, World Anti-Doping Agency,

March 11, 2016; Beckie Scott, Chair, Athlete Committee, World Anti-Doping Agency, speech, meeting of the World

Anti-Doping Agency Foundation Board, May 11, 2016; Claudia Bokel, Chair, Athletes’ Commission, International

Olympic Committee, and Beckie Scott, Chair, Athlete Committee, World Anti-Doping Agency, letter to Thomas Bach,

President, International Olympic Committee, and Sir Craig Reedie, President, World Anti-Doping Agency, May 18,

2016.

170

Konrad, letter to Thomas Bach; Scott, letter to Sir Craig Reedie.

171

Scott, speech.

172

Bokel and Scott, letter to Bach and Reedie.

173

Beckie Scott, Chair, Athlete Committee, World Anti-Doping Agency, and Claudia Bokel, Chair, Athletes’

Commission, International Olympic Committee, “Statement from Claudia Bokel, Chair of the IOC Athlete

Commission, and Beckie Scott, Chair of the WADA Athlete Committee, on the Decision of the IAAF to Uphold and

Continue the Current Suspension of the Russian Federation,” tweet, Beckie Scott (@BeckieScott4), June 17, 2016.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

not to impose an outright ban on Russian athletes. As reported by the New York Times and Wall

Street Journal, other stakeholders have been critical of the IOC’s decision.174

Protecting Clean Athletes Post-2016 Rio Games

The IC and IP Reports emphasize the need for strengthening efforts to protect clean athletes,

which was begun by the IOC in late December 2014.

Following the 127th IOC Session, which was held on December 7, 2014, the IOC changed its

philosophy with regard to doping and called for greater independence for WADA. Effective

August 2, 2015, the Olympic Charter states that the IOC’s role is, in part, “to protect clean

athletes and the integrity of sport, by leading the fight against doping.... ”175 Previously, the

Charter stated that the role of the IOC with regard to doping was “to lead the fight against doping

in sport.”176 Explaining its change in philosophy, the IOC wrote, in part,

The Olympic Movement is all about the clean athletes. They are our best

ambassadors, they are our role-models, they are our treasure. Therefore we have

first and foremost to protect the clean athletes. We have to protect them from doping,

match-fixing, manipulation and corruption. We have to change our way of thinking. We

have to consider every single cent in the fight against these evils not as an expense but as

an investment in the future of Olympic Sport. We have to realize that catching the cheats

is extremely important but only a means to an end—the protection of the clean athletes.177

Since changing the Olympic charter, the IOC has taken, or proposed, several steps to enhance the

protection of clean athletes. At its October 2015 Olympic Summit, the IOC proposed that the

testing of athletes should be independent from sports organizations and requested that WADA

lead a working group to study the proposal that it (WADA) take responsibility for testing.178 In

December 2015, the IOC’s Executive Board unanimously adopted a declaration that included

proposals for WADA and CAS. The executive board proposed that WADA establish an

independent entity for testing and results management, that the new entity include a unit

dedicated to intelligence collection, and that “sports oganisations should transfer their doping

control operations to this new organisation.”179 The IOC Executive Board’s proposal involving

CAS stated that the court should be the body that pronounces doping sanctions. This change,

according to the board, would centralize the system of sanctions and be cost efficient while

174

Rebecca R. Ruiz, “I.O.C. Forces Russians to Prove They Have a Drug-Free Past, New York Times, July 24, 2016;

Matthew Futterman and Sara Germano, “ IOC Stops Short of Banning Entire Russian Delegation from Rio Olympics,”

Wall Street Journal , July 24, 2016.

175

International Olympic Committee, Olympic Charter, September 2015, p. 18, at https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/

Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf#_ga=1.46370914.497553849.1456945898.

176

International Olympic Committee, Olympic Agenda 2020, Context and Background, December 9, 2014, p. 56, at

https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Olympic_Agenda_2020/Olympic_Agenda_2020-Context_and_backgroundENG.pdf.

177

International Olympic Committee, Olympic Agenda 2020, 20+20 Recommendations, n.d., p. 4, at

https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Olympic_Agenda_2020/Olympic_Agenda_2020-20-20_RecommendationsENG.pdf. (Boldface in original.)

178

International Olympic Committee, “Fourth Olympic Summit Communique,” October 17, 2015, at

https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Conferences_Forums_and_Events/2015-Olympic-Summit/2015_1017_Communique_Olympic_Summit-English.pdf.

179

International Olympic Committee, “IOC Executive Board Adopts Declaration on Good Governance in Sport and the

Protection of Clean Athletes,” December 10, 2015, at https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-executive-board-adoptsdeclaration-on-good-governance-in-sport-and-the-protection-of-clean-athletes.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

creating a more “harmonised anti-doping system among all sports and all countries.”180 Finally,

the IOC has called on WADA to convene an “Extraordinary World Conference on Doping” in

2017.181

180

Ibid.

International Olympic Committee, “Declaration of the Olympic Summit, Five-Point Plan to Ensure a Level Playing

Field for Athletes at the Olympic Games Rio 2016.”

181

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Appendix. Anti-Doping Acronyms

Glossary

ADAK

Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya

ARAF

All-Russia Athletics Federation (predecessor to the Russian Athletic Federation

[RusAF])

IAAF

International Association of Athletics Federations

International federation

IOC

International Olympic Committee

IPC

International Paralympic Committee

ISL

International Standard for Laboratories182

IWF

International Weightlifting Federation

NADO

National anti-doping agency

NGB

National governing body

NOC

National Olympic committee

NPC

National Paralympic Committee

Rio2016™

Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

ROC

Russian Olympic Committee

RPC

Russian Paralympic Committee

RUSADA

Russian Anti-Doping Agency

RusAF

Russian Athletic Federation (previously known as the All-Russia Athletics

Federation [ARAF])

USADA

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency

USOC

U.S. Olympic Committee

WADA

World Anti-Doping Agency

Author Contact Information

(name redacted), Coordinator

Specialist in American National Government

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

, 7-....

182

(name redacted), Coordinator

Specialist in Terrorism and National Security

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

, 7-....

This is a publication.

Congressional Research Service

The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Key Policy Staff

Area of Expertise

Name

Phone

Anti-doping

(name redacted)

7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

Brazil

(namered

acted)

7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

Environmental issues

(name redacted)

7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

Public health (Brazil)

(name redact

ed)

7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

Public safety

Peter Meyer

7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

Security

(name redacted)

7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

Zika virus

(nameredacted)

7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov

Congressional Research Service

EveryCRSReport.com

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a federal legislative branch agency, housed inside the

Library of Congress, charged with providing the United States Congress non-partisan advice on

issues that may come before Congress.

EveryCRSReport.com republishes CRS reports that are available to all Congressional staff. The

reports are not classified, and Members of Congress routinely make individual reports available to

the public.

Prior to our republication, we redacted names, phone numbers and email addresses of analysts

who produced the reports. We also added this page to the report. We have not intentionally made

any other changes to any report published on EveryCRSReport.com.

CRS reports, as a work of the United States government, are not subject to copyright protection in

the United States. Any CRS report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without

permission from CRS. However, as a CRS report may include copyrighted images or material from a

third party, you may need to obtain permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or

otherwise use copyrighted material.

Information in a CRS report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public

understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to members of Congress in

connection with CRS' institutional role.

EveryCRSReport.com is not a government website and is not affiliated with CRS. We do not claim

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.