Risks Of Microcystin-LR

The first study on oncology nurses and risks of chemotherapy exposure where done in the late 1970s when mutagenic changes were discovered in the urine of nurses who administered chemotherapy. The first set of guidelines for the safe handling of chemotherapy was made around

Lake Erie is thriving biologically but not in the way one might think. It’s poisoned with toxic algal blooms that grow in the phosphorus-concentrated waters millions of Canadians and Americas alike depend on for drinking water. Unfortunately, this is also not the first time this has happened to the Great, not-so-great Lake.

The high growth rate leads to depletion in the amounts of available oxygen in the water and thus, a death of some marine organisms. Also, uncontrolled growth of microalgae can lead to shading of benthic zone changing the life conditions for benthos (Erdner et al.,2008). The produced DA does not make harm to the invertebrates. However, it acts as a neurotoxin in vertebrates, binding to kainite-type ionotropic glutamate neuroreceptors (Tatters, Fu, & Hutchins, 2012). The toxin accumulates in molluscs and undergoes bioconcentration effect when passed through the food chains. In the result, marine fish, birds and mammals die of

Pharmaceuticals are defined as prescription, over the counter and veterinary therapeutic drugs used to prevent or treat human and animal diseases, while personal care products (PCPs) are used mainly to improve the quality of daily life [16]. Over the past few years, there has been growing awareness of the unintentional presence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in various compartments of the aquatic environment at concentrations capable of causing detrimental effects to the aquatic organisms. This has become a major concern because PPCPs are extensively and increasingly used in human and veterinary medicine, resulting in their continuous release to the environment.

There are several environmental concerns affecting the community of Lusby, Maryland, but of main concern is the cyanobacteria growing in the Chesapeake Bay. The blue-green algae called cyanobacteria is infesting the waterways in and around Lusby causing a hazard to the community. According to National Geographic (n.d.), the Chesapeake Bay was one of the first waterways recognized in the 1970s having overgrowth of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria contains both an algae and a bacteria and when growth exceeds space and the algae begins to die, two issues occur: toxins are produced and released which are harmful to both humans and animals and hypoxia follows as oxygen is consumed in excessive creating a dead zone in the water for all other living

There are several environmental concerns affecting the community of Lusby, Maryland, but of main concern is the cyanobacteria growing in the Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Bay and Patuxent River surrounded the peninsula town on Lusby and numerous lakes and creeks are embedded in the town as well, creating breeding ground for the blue-green algae, cyanobacteria and a hazard for the community. According to National Geographic, the Chesapeake Bay was one of the first waterways recognized in the 1970s that had overgrowth of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria contains both an algae and a bacteria and when growth exceeds space and the algae begins to die, two issues occur: toxins are produced and released which are harmful to both humans and animals and hypoxia follows as oxygen is consumed in excessive creating a dead zone in the water for all other living organisms in the bay (“U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Ecological Effects, Nutrient Pollution Policy and Data,” n.d.).

One particular bloom in the summer of 2014 was of poisonous algae which produced the toxin microcystin – consumption of which can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and even liver failure – that had formed in an area of Lake Erie used for the city of Toledo’s drinking water (Wines, 2014). The city issued a notice to the approximate 500,000 citizens using that water informing them not to drink it, even after boiling. The ban took two days to lift, impacting the ability of those citizens to get fresh drinking water during that time.

The contaminated water has protozoan-a microscopic organism, oocyst-is a parasite protozoan like malaria, viruses, and bacteria. Illnesses such as West Nile and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever have also been reported from poor run off conditions. (Gaffield & Jackson, 2003) As stated in the American Journal of Public Health, "Approximately 99 million people in the United States have acute gastrointestinal illnesses each year, at a cost of billions of dollars, and 6% to 40% of these illnesses may be caused by contaminated drinking water.". Another problem found in contaminated drinking water is Nitrogen. High amounts of nitrogen can bring the risk of Methemoglobinemia-is an oxidized hemoglobin that can not send oxygen to the tissues of the body, the symptoms include shortness of breathe and blueness of skin. It has also been linked to and increase in miscarriages. Copper, Zinc, and Lead, which also have ill effects on humans, can be found in mostly urban areas with so exceptions. These are just a few of the contaminates that are caused by uncontrolled storm water run off. (Gaffield & Jackson,

Affects of the blue-green algae on humans come from extensive contact with the skin and swallowing the algae water. Symptoms of skin contact include skin rashes, lesions, blisters. More severe cases include mouth ulcers, ulcers inside the nose, eye, ear irritation, and blistering of the lips. If in the case of ingesting the algae symptoms include headaches, nausea, muscular pains, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. Severe cases include seizures, liver failure, respiratory arrest, even

This is a major issue, as some algae releases a deadly liver toxin into the water called microcystin, while consuming oxygen to fuel this process. We’ve found ourselves digging another grave for Lake Erie, so let’s try not to dig it any

Two of these such issues are algal blooms, caused by various cyanobacteria, and the introduction of carp into ecosystems. The effects of carp

These level are higher for the rest of the population with HA levels for drinking water for microcystins at or below 1.6 µg/L (USEPA, 2015b); and for cylindrospermopsin at or below 3.0 µg/L (USEPA, 2015c). Besides the publication of Federal HAs by the USEPA, some U.S. States have implemented their own guidelines for the monitoring of cyanotoxins. In Ohio, the State EPA provides guidelines for Microcystin-LR, Anatoxin-a, Cylindrospermopsin and Saxitoxin concentrations in the drinking water and for recreational use. For pre-school age children the levels in drinking water are 0.3 µg/L, 20 µg/L, 0.7 µg/L and 0.2 µg/L for Microcystin-LR, Anatoxin-a, Cylindrospermopsin and Saxitoxin, respectively. These values increase to 1.6 µg/L, 20 µg/L, 3.0 µg/L and 0.2 µg/L for drinking water for school age children to adults and up to 20 µg/L, 300 µg/L, 20 µg/L and 3 µg/L for recreational use (OHEPA, 2015). Since these guidelines are new they did not change since their establishment, however, it is important to consider that since they are not legally enforceable federal standards these values are subject to change (USEPA,

In order to understand harmful algae blooms, it is necessary to understand the organisms responsible for them. In the United States, the most common place for them to occur is in the Gulf of Mexico, meaning that the situation there should be further examined. There, the organism responsible is known Karenia brevis, a type of floating algae, or dinoflagellate, found on the western coast of Florida and the eastern coast of Texas. Dinoflagellates are miniscule but can, at maximum have at least "60 million organisms per litre” at once, a large group for such a small section of ocean. With such numbers, it is understandable how, if the organism were harmful, such a situation could become dangerous. Unfortunately, K. brevis is harmful; it becomes dangerous when it is broken apart, releasing a neurotoxin known as brevotoxin, a “tasteless,

According to the Vermont Health Department (http://www.healthvermont.gov/enviro/bg_algae/bgalgae.aspx), the blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, produce a toxin which, if it were to come in contact with the skin, could cause eye irritation as well as throat irritation, numb lips, tingling fingers and toes, and dizziness. Longer exposure and the consuming of the tainted water could cause gastrointestinal distress and illness such

When I was a little girl, I spent my summers rafting down and swimming in the rivers of Northern California, minutes from my house. My family would spend hours at the river weekly, having fun and relaxing by the water, but we never truly thought about what was actually in the water. Over the course of a few years, the water started becoming greener, making it so that we could not see the bottom. This cause was from the algae growth in the water. Our county started having health issues from humans and dogs alike, and every case of these issues came from swimming in the rivers. That summer, Humboldt County put a health warning out to the community, asking to stay away from the water. Of course, people would not listen, creating the epidemic of blue-green algae. Algae are the most noncomplex members of the plant kingdom, and the blue-green algae are the most plain of the algae. Blue-green algae have a substantial and increasing economic importance, they have both helpful and life threatening effects on living beings. Although they are named after algae, they are not true algae. Blue-green algae do not have a nucleus, or chloroplasts. Actually, blue-green algae are more related to bacteria, which have closer characteristics. The activity of nitrogen fixation and the occurrence of gas vesicles are extremely important to the triumph of blue-green algae. Blue-green algae are located in various locations on land and in water, generally in environments where vegetation does not