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Monitoring Ecosystem Toxins in a Water Body for Sustainable Development of a Lake Watershed
Published in Ni-Bin Chang, Kaixu Bai, Multisensor Data Fusion and Machine Learning for Environmental Remote Sensing, 2018
Continuous population growth, urban development, and agricultural production have inevitably yielded the increase of nutrients-laden stormwater runoff, making the surface waters eutrophic. Such eutrophic conditions have fueled the mass production of cyanobacteria-dominated algal blooms in polluted waters, which are commonly referred to as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). The HABs contain toxins that can negatively impact the ecosystem and human health. The predominant species of cyanobacteria that produce cyanotoxins are Microcystis aeruginsa, Microcystis viridis, Aphanizomenon flos-aquqe, and Anabaena, all of which are a form of blue-green algae that produces liver toxins causing numbness, vomiting, nausea, and occasional liver failure (WHO, 1999; Lekki et al., 2009; NASA, 2013). The dynamic occurrence and movement of the HABs driven simultaneously by hydrodynamic currents, ocean circulation, and enhanced wind fetching over the surface waters requires constant monitoring and appropriate control measures.
Introduction
Published in Ingrid Chorus, Martin Welker, Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water, 2021
Cyanobacteria can produce a huge diversity of secondary metabolites, the biosynthetic pathways of which are known for a number of individual compounds or compound classes, respectively. Only a small share of the known metabolites shows toxic effects, but these cyanotoxins have caused numerous cases of poisoning of farm or wild animals, which demonstrate their toxic potential (Wood, 2016; Svirčev et al., 2019) and which suggests that animal illnesses and deaths are sentinel events for human health risks (Hilborn & Beasley, 2015). A large body of evidence from experimental studies with laboratory animals has elucidated their mode of action: some cyanotoxins are highly neurotoxic and others can damage the liver, kidney or other organs when ingested.
Phytoplankton
Published in E. B. Welch, J. M. Jacoby, T. Lindell, Pollutant Effects in Freshwater, 2004
E. B. Welch, J. M. Jacoby, T. Lindell
Effects of cyanobacterial toxins on humans are poorly understood. Humans are typically exposed to cyanotoxins through drinking water supplies or through recreational use of water bodies with cyanobacterial blooms. Exposures to cyanotoxins have caused a variety of symptoms and illnesses including hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms, and allergic and dermotoxic reactions. Although outbreaks of human illness associated with exposure to cyanobacteria have been reported for years, few clinical studies have been conducted. Reviews can be found in Chorus and Batram (1999) and Chorus (2001).
A review of algal toxin exposures on reserved federal lands and among trust species in the United States
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2022
Zachary R. Laughrey, Victoria G. Christensen, Robert J. Dusek, Sarena Senegal, Julia S. Lankton, Tracy A. Ziegler, Lee C. Jones, Daniel K. Jones, Brianna M. Williams, Stephanie Gordon, Gerald A. Clyde, Erich B. Emery, Keith A. Loftin
There are currently no Federal regulations covering cyanotoxin exposure in inland or coastal waters, but advisory thresholds or guidelines for humans have been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for drinking water (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2015) and recreational exposure (Ross, 2019). Starting in 1999, the WHO thresholds were based on cell count, microcystin-LR concentration, or chlorophyll-a concentration (Chorus & Bartram, 1999). These thresholds were expanded and revised in 2021 to also include guideline values for cylindrospermopsins, and saxitoxins and a health-based reference value for anatoxin-a. The EPA recommendations are based on microcystin and cylindrospermopsin concentration (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2019). State-level programs, where they exist, are largely focused on event-response and state-level guideline values that vary across the United States as are the state laws and regulations that specify how each state responds (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2019). Federal agencies collaborate with states and often defer to state-level guidance on Federal lands. Multiple analytical methods are utilized and the total toxin or whole water toxin fraction (e.g., intracellular + dissolved) is typically used.
Rapid-assessment test strips: effectiveness for cyanotoxin monitoring in a northern temperate lake
Published in Lake and Reservoir Management, 2020
Jaime F. LeDuc, Victoria G. Christensen, Ryan P. Maki
Cyanobacteria can multiply and “bloom” rapidly in response to sunlight, increased nutrients, and warming temperatures (Merel et al. 2013, Agnihotri 2014). When blooms contain cyanobacteria, they can produce toxins that have been linked with acute poisoning of humans, pets, and wildlife (Hilborn et al. 2014, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 2014, Carmichael and Boyer 2016) and are often referred to as harmful algal blooms (HABs). Exposure to freshwater cyanotoxins occurs most frequently through the ingestion of water, either by drinking or inadvertently during recreational activities. Dogs and wildlife are particularly susceptible to ingesting cyanotoxins when they lick their fur to clean themselves after exiting a bloom site (Mahmood et al. 1988). Dog deaths, human health effects, and reports of severe nuisance blooms have evoked interest in algal bloom toxicity.
Removal of Cyanotoxins in Detroit River Water Using Ozone-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes
Published in Ozone: Science & Engineering, 2020
S.Y. Jasim, M. Uslu, R. Seth, N. Biswas
Excessive nutrient discharge, together with warmer surface temperatures caused by the climate change, has led to the cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in drinking water sources (Chorus and Bartram 1999). Intracellular and extracellular cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria are of concern as they might be harmful to animal and human health through recreational activities and/or drinking water. Hepatotoxins (e.g., microcystins (MCs), CYN) and neurotoxins (e.g., ANA) are main groups of cyanotoxins which negatively affect liver and nervous system (Merel, Clement, and Thomas 2010). Several incidents including fatal ones have been reported in the literature in which exposure to the cyanotoxins resulted in gastrointestinal problems, skin rash, mouth ulcer, respiratory distress, and even deaths (Azevedo et al. 2002; Giannuzi et al. 2011; Jasim and Saththasivam 2017; Pilotto et al. 1997).