Toxic Algae Blooms

Toxic Algae Blooms

Toxic Algae Blooms. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. I remember the days of my youth when working on the farms during the summer. We couldn't wait for a chance to strip down to our BVD's and jump into the pond. I also spent many hours scuba diving in numerous lakes and ponds in Kansas. But those days may be numbered as levels of toxins have been climbing over the years in northwest lakes. Kathy Hamel is an aquatic plant specialist with the Washington Department of Ecology who has seen a lot more dangerous levels of toxic algae recently. HAMEL: Unfortunately a lot of our freshwater lakes have been experiencing toxic algae blooms in recent years and blooms can turn the water pea-soup green or sometimes there's a lake over in eastern Washington where the water actually turns red. Millions and millions of microscopic cells of blue-green algae in the water and unfortunately a lot of fresh water algae blooms can turn toxic. Not all algae is toxic and Hamel says that is the difficult part. HAMEL: Its toxicity can kind of turn off and on. We're not really sure what triggers the toxin to be produced but unfortunately the toxins they produce can be quite deadly certainly to pets. There have been deaths of dogs and cats associated with toxic blooms, livestock. Those blooms do occur in livestock ponds and people do lose livestock. This is not a problem that is exclusive to Washington State. Any freshwater lake or pond and even saltwater areas along the coast can be prone to algae blooms. HAMEL: Recently our Department of Health has started documenting some human illnesses that have been associated with toxic blooms so they certainly can affect people, their pets and livestock and wildlife. There's a couple of kinds of toxins that are produced, one is a nerve toxin. That one can be very, very deadly and in fact in a lake in Jefferson County called Anderson Lake people's dogs died. They went swimming and immediately upon coming out of the water they basically had convulsions and died. The other toxin is a liver toxin that can build up over time. Hamel suggests avoiding any water with any type of algae blooms. You can find more information on toxic algae blooms by going online to your states Department of Ecology and locating their water quality section. In many cases they will list a database of local lakes known to be experiencing algae blooms and areas you should avoid. More on Monday. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.
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