Algal Bloom Monitoring

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Algal Bloom Monitoring

EPA Planning to Issue Health Advisories On Harmful Algal Blooms by May 2015

The Environmental Protection Agency is aiming to issue by May 2015 drinking water health advisories for cyanobacteria, the harmful forms of blue-green algae that contaminated water supplies in Toledo, Ohio, and resulted in a weekend-long ban in early August, an agency official said Sept. 29.

The agency is working on health advisories for microcystin L-R and cylindrospermopsin, with plans to have them out before the season of the harmful algal blooms begins next year, Betsy Southerland, director of the EPA Office of Science and Technology with the Office of Water, told participants at a Clean Water Act policy developments discussion in New Orleans.

All three forms of cyanobacteria, or harmful algae blooms, release toxics. In particular, freshwater cyanobacterial blooms that produce highly potent cyanotoxins are known as cyanobacterial HABs (cyanoHABs). These species are capable of producing compounds that are hepatotoxic (affect the liver), neurotoxic (affect the nervous system) and acutely dermatotoxic (affect the skin), according to EPA.

EPA currently doesn't regulate the cyanotoxins released by these algae, but it has been encouraging states to develop numeric nutrient criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus that fuel the growth of such algae in source waters.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has declared pollution arising from nitrogen and phosphorus to be a priority.

The discussion was held as part of the Water Environment Federation's Technical and Exhibition Conference, which runs Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 in New Orleans.

Southerland said a contractor-led peer review of the health advisories had just started.

Following Southerland was Peter Grevatt, director of the EPA Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water, who said a combination of aging infrastructure and threats to source water from nutrient pollution is a "very dangerous combination " playing out in terms of public health.

Source: Bloomberg

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