Swimming in toxic waters

Swimming in toxic waters In antiquity the Thriasio Plain, to the South west of Athens on the Saronic Gulf, was one of the holiest areas of Greece, with its centre at Elefsina. Today it is the industrial backyard of Athens, hosting 40% of Greek industry with 1,623 industrial plants, two refineries, two steel mills, two cement plants, two shipyards and an ammunition factory. The area has become one of the most environmentally degraded areas of the country. The majority of these plants dispose much of their raw waste into the sea, the shallow sensitive bay of Eleusis, creating anoxic conditions and effectively transforming the bay into a dead sea. On top of that more than 5,000 ships dock in the 16 piers of the bay every year, 50 decommissioned ships are moored there, slowly rusting into the sea while 10 shipwrecks pollute the sea. On June 24, 2004 the Court of Justice of the European Union filed against Greece for lack of sewage treatment and sanitation and a year later Greece was convicted for polluting the groundwater with hazardous waste. The 120,000 people living in the area experience the torment of Tantalus, looking at a sea that cannot be approached; yet a few do swim in the polluted waters although the contaminated waters can cause anything from chronic dermatitis to cancer. "It is dangerous even to breathe here, so will it be that bad if I swim" says Jorgos, before jumping into the red waters