Algae blooms in lakes and oceans can be toxic to people and wildlife. Federal researchers say these blooms have become much more common and
widespread over the last 30 years. Rebecca Williams has more:
Transcript
Algae blooms in lakes and oceans can be toxic to people and wildlife.
Federal researchers say these blooms have become much more common and
widespread over the last 30 years. Rebecca Williams has more:
Researchers say harmful algal blooms are happening along all the
coastal states. They’re also happening more often in freshwater lakes.
Quay Dortch is with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. She’s an author of a new government report. She says
some kinds of algae can make shellfish unsafe to eat:
“When the toxin levels get high enough to be a problem for human
consumption they have to close the shell fisheries, sometimes these
discolor the water or they make water smell, or they can produce
aerosols that cause irritation when you breathe.”
Dortch says humans are a likely cause of the increase in algal blooms.
Excess nutrients from farming, lawn fertilizers and sewer systems fuel
algae growth.
The report estimates these blooms cost the US economy 82 million
dollars a year.
For the Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.