A huge outbreak in Lake Erie last year sickened dozens in Ohio and Michigan as increased runoff of commercial fertilizers creates environmental problems.
Most people think of algae as the life-giver of our planet, sustaining sea life and breathing oxygen into our atmosphere — and they’d be right. But there’s a dark underside to algal blooms: they can be toxic and threatening to humans, and federal agencies are now teaming up to warn people when they strike.
Last year, an algae bloom in Lake Erie left 400,000 people in Ohio and Michigan without safe drinking water, and it has been a growing problem in the region for hte last decade. The algae contains unsafe levels of a toxin known as microcystin, which is created by cyanobacteria, and it makes the waters of Lake Erie looks like someone smeared them with green paint, according to a Huffington Post report.
To help combat the problem of poisonous algae blooms, NASA has announced it is collaborating with the U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Environmental Protection Agency on a $3.6 million project to monitor freshwater algal blooms using satellites. The agencies will use the data from the satellites to build an early warning and information distribution system that will allow scientists to spot algae-related freshwater hazards ahead of time.
The funding will also go toward research of the health effects and environmental causes of marine cyanobacteria and phytoplankton viruses, according to an ExecutiveGov report.
Cyanobacteria algae can wreak havoc on the person’s body, causing abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, liver inflammation, pneumonia, and even tumor growth.
A person can become exposed through the mouth or skin when swimming in an area that has been contaminated, or by drinking or even showering in such water.
The algae bloom found near Toledo last year had microcystin levels that were more than doubled that of the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. A total of 70 people were taken to the hospital because of the toxic substance.
And it doesn’t just affect humans. Algae blooms can kill fish and damage the ecosystem, and rather than pump oxygen into the atmosphere, it consumes oxygen in the water when it decomposes, creating “dead zones” where fish and other life die.
Why are these dangerous algae blooms happening? It’s impossible to link it to just one cause, but authorities believe the algae bloom in Lake Erie was caused by increased phosphorous, which probably came from commercial fertilizers for agriculture and lawn maintenance and introduced into the water via runoff, which is then eaten by the algae.
