Editing Rio de Janeiro (section)

===Environment===
Due to the high concentration of industries in the metropolitan region, the city has faced serious problems of environmental pollution. The [[Guanabara Bay]] has lost mangrove areas and suffers from residues from domestic and industrial sewage, oils and heavy metals. Although its waters renew when they reach the sea, the bay is the final receiver of all the tributaries generated along its banks and in the basins of the many rivers and streams that flow into it. The levels of particulate matter in the air are twice as high as that recommended by the [[World Health Organization]], in part because of the large numbers of vehicles in circulation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Afra Balazina |date=21 September 2007 |title=Estudo revela poluição elevada em seis capitais |trans-title=Study reveals high pollution levels in six capitals |url=http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u330220.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221042944/http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u330220.shtml |archive-date=21 December 2007 |access-date=26 October 2008 |website=Folha Online |language=pt}}</ref>

The waters of Sepetiba Bay are slowly following the path traced by Guanabara Bay, with sewage generated by a population of the order of 1.29 million inhabitants being released without treatment in streams or rivers. With regard to industrial pollution, highly toxic wastes, with high concentrations of heavy metals – mainly [[zinc]] and [[cadmium]] – have been dumped over the years by factories in the industrial districts of [[Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro|Santa Cruz]], [[Itaguaí]] and [[Nova Iguaçu]], constructed under the supervision of State policies.<ref name="OQ">{{Cite web |year=2001 |title=Contexto ambiental da Baía de Sepetiba |url=http://www.koinonia.org.br/oq/dossies/marambaia/not_contexto1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501032842/http://www.koinonia.org.br/oq/dossies/marambaia/not_contexto1.htm |archive-date=1 May 2013 |access-date=26 October 2008 |publisher=Observatório Quilombola (OQ) |language=pt}}</ref>

The Marapendi lagoon and the [[Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon]] have suffered with the leniency of the authorities and the growth in the number of apartment buildings close by. The illegal discharge of sewage and the consequent deaths of algae diminished the oxygenation of the waters, causing fish mortality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hélio Almeida |date=11 January 2011 |title=Lagoa de Marapendi sofre com poluição da água |trans-title=Marapendi Lagoon suffers with water pollution |url=http://www.sidneyrezende.com/noticia/116507+lagoa+de+marapendi+sofre+com+poluicao+da+agua |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119050726/http://www.sidneyrezende.com/noticia/116507+lagoa+de+marapendi+sofre+com+poluicao+da+agua |archive-date=19 January 2011 |access-date=18 November 2012 |language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Agência Brasil |date=18 May 2010 |title=Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas estará despoluída até 2014, diz secretário |trans-title=Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon will be unpolluted until 2014, says secretary |url=http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/vidae,lagoa-rodrigo-de-freitas-estara-despoluida-ate-2014-diz-secretario,553395,0.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518003936/http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/vidae,lagoa-rodrigo-de-freitas-estara-despoluida-ate-2014-diz-secretario,553395,0.htm |archive-date=18 May 2013 |access-date=18 November 2012 |website=O Estado de S. Paulo |language=pt}}</ref>

There are, on the other hand, signs of decontamination in the lagoon made through a [[public-private partnership]] established in 2008 to ensure that the lagoon waters will eventually be suitable for bathing. The decontamination actions involve the transfer of sludge to large craters present in the lagoon itself, and the creation of a new direct and underground connection with the sea, which will contribute to increase the daily water exchange between the two environments. However, during the Olympics the lagoon hosted the rowing competitions and there were numerous concerns about potential infection resulting from human sewage.<ref>{{Cite news |title=For rowers in Rio's Olympic water, it's all about avoiding the splash |work=Chicago Tribune |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/ct-olympic-rowing-dirty-water-20160806-story.html |access-date=8 May 2017 |archive-date=20 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320070402/https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/ct-olympic-rowing-dirty-water-20160806-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
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{{wide image|PanoramaRio.jpg|1600px|align-cap=center|Panorama of the city of Rio de Janeiro highlighting the mountains of [[Corcovado]] (left), [[Sugarloaf Mountain (Brazil)|Sugarloaf]] (center, background) and Two Brothers (right), from the [[Vista Chinesa|Chinese Belvedere]]}}