Under-reported toxins in St. Lucie River algae blooms a health hazard, researchers say
By Tyler Treadway, Treasure Coast Newspapers
Under-reporting the toxicity of blue-green algae blooms can lead to people suffering long-term health problems, according to a new study.
The research by the Institute for Ethnomedicine in Jackson, Wyoming, focuses on the 2016 algae blooms in the St. Lucie River, but chides toxicity testing procedures still used today by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection during this year’s algae outbreak.
Noting the DEP’s practice of sampling for toxic algae around the edge of a bloom, the study states samples should be taken in “scums or thick bloom material” to provide the “worst-case scenario” for how much toxin people can encounter.
Sampling in open water with low levels of toxins, the study states, may not trigger alerts to the danger of blue-green algae, known by scientists as cyanobacteria.
Read The News Story Here:
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/indian-river-lagoon/health/2018/08/16/test-toxins-middle-blue-green-algae-bloom-study-says/847746002/
Read the Research HERE