Download or read book Understanding Risk Perception and Health Risk Communication Message Testing Related to Harmful Algal Blooms HABs in Michigan Lakes written by Alexandra Valeria Benitez Gonzalez and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Great Lakes region, harmful algal blooms (HABs) also known as cyanobacterial blooms (blue-green algae) have become well-known due to severe public health risks, environmental, and socio-economic effects. Environmental and public health information related to risks from HABs are mainly communicated through state and local government health agencies, the efficacy of those approaches is unknown. The purpose of this study is to learn how to effectively communicate risks caused by HABs and understand the public's perception of risk from HABs when engaging in recreational activities in several lakes in Michigan. Drawing upon the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) the study design developed two phases: (1) needs assessment in 2021 and (2) experimental message testing and evaluation in 2022. The first phase consists of conducting a fieldwork and 27 interviews with selected individuals from vulnerable populations to explore existing health-advisory messages about HABs near recreational areas, communication preferences, knowledge, and lake experiences with HABs in several communities. Throughout the first phase a gap between existing information provided by government entities about HABs, and individuals awareness of HABs and its effects was found. The second phase experimentally tested two communication frames (cognitive vs. emotional framing). Using TBT as our main framework, among the different behavioral beliefs measured to understand how they influence risk perception; attitude was shown to be significant. Based on our findings, emotional framing was able to achieve a higher level of risk perception than cognitive framing, demonstrating a need to effectively communicate risk using different framing approaches. This study contributes to the policy and practice of how to effectively communicate human health risks from freshwater HABs in the Great Lakes region.
Download or read book Harmful Algal Blooms in Small Lakes written by Igor Mrdjen and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The increasing frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) has quickly become an environmental health concern worldwide. As rates of anthropogenic nutrient use rise with growing food demand, and as extreme precipitation events are expected to increase with the changing climate, rates of nutrient influx into watersheds are expected to increase. With increasing nutrient loads and temperatures in watersheds, many of the world’s water bodies and reservoirs are becoming eutrophic, establishing optimal conditions for HAB formation. HABs may change the ecology of water bodies; produce hypoxic zones resulting in fish deaths; and produce cyanotoxin compounds toxic to the liver, nervous system, and reproductive system of most eukaryotic organisms. Human and animal exposure to the most commonly occurring cyanotoxin, microcystin (MC), has been linked with hepatotoxicity, nausea, vomiting, and death in extreme circumstances. Within the MC family of toxins, microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is the most common, possesses the highest toxicity, and is cited as a suspected carcinogen.
Download or read book Monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms written by Lasse H. Pettersson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-07-25 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monitoring of Harmful Algae Blooms is a timely guide to the research techniques in use to monitor visible algae blooms and through remote sensing, including infrared techniques, predict them through mathematical modeling. Drawing on current and future satellite data, the book presents visible perspectives on a more efficient HAB monitoring system for the future. It also emphasizes practical applications, impacting on marine ecology, national economy, health, food and safety and quality assurance.
Download or read book Harmful algal blooms and hypoxia written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science. Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environmental Drivers of Harmful Algal Blooms in Michigan Inland Lakes written by and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The increase in harmful canobacteria blooms threatens freshwater ecosystems and presents a risk to human health. A survey of 29 inland lakes was conducted to investigate possible drivers of microcystin. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to identity and quantify the microcystin variants. In parallel, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was also used to measure total microcystin. Quanitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (QPCR) was used to detect and quantify the 16s ribosomal RNA (16s rRNA), mcyE, cyrA and sxtA gene targets responsible for microcystin and nodularin, cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxin. Measurement of nutrient concentrations and water quality parameters were conducted. With Geographic Information System (GIS), geographical properties for each lake were calculated. I hypothesized total microcystin would be positively associated with lakes with urbanized watershed. In our survey, total microcystin did not correlate with urbanization. We found turbidity and lake watershed area to be associated with total microcystin.
Download or read book Harmful Algal Blooms HABs and Public Health Progress and Current Challenges written by Lesley D'Anglada and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2018-10-01 with total page 1 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Public Health: Progress and Current Challenges" that was published in Toxins
Download or read book Novel Screening Tools and Risk Assessment Approaches for the Freshwater Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins Microcystins written by Amber Ford Roegner and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microcystins (MCs) comprise a family of 900 to 1100 Da monocyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxins prevalent in freshwaters worldwide. Named for Microcystis aeruginosa, the cyanobacteria from which they were first isolated and identified, MCs are produced as secondary metabolites by a diverse range of cyanobacterial genera and species comprising toxic freshwater harmful algal blooms. The two variable common amino acids positions in the rings of these toxins designate the name of the congener among the well over 100 now identified. These ubiquitous and environmentally persistent MCs are responsible for acute poisonings of human and animal species worldwide, and also have carcinogenic properties. Despite the overwhelming importance of MCs for animal and human health, many challenges remain concerning the toxicity and detection of congeners. The three published chapters contained herein attempt to cohesively address some of these challenges with regard to human and animal health risk assessment in surface waters mainly by 1) reviewing existing methods for removal of the potent toxin from potable water sources and identifying gaps in knowledge, particularly around point of use options for resource limited regions of the world; 2) delineating a quantitative, rapid and high throughput method with MALDI-TOF for screening surface waters for multiple congeners with little sample required and highly adaptable to local source water conditions; and 3) characterizing a more in vivo-like aggregate liver cell culture model and testing MC toxic effect in said model as compared with commonly used approaches to hepatocellular toxicity assays within the literature.Even resource and infrastructure rich regions of the world face challenges in predicting microcystin levels in surface water blooms and in completely eliminating the toxin from drinking water sources, while regions with limited resources and infrastructure are in dire need of efficacious and affordable treatment options for point of use drinking water at the community and household level. The locally adaptable, quantitative approach to MALDI-TOF for screening surface water blooms for microcystins provides watershed managers and public health officials a means to rapidly screen many samples for microcystins and offers an opportunity to vastly improve temporal and spatial understanding of public health risks associated with cyanobacterial blooms. Finally, the aggregate approach to cell culture offers a more mechanistic understanding of microcystin in vitro liver toxicity, and more relevant context in which to interpret existing cell culture risk assessment data and in which to potentially evaluate comparative toxicity of MC congeners or mixtures present in surface water blooms. Through efficient and accessible detection methods along with more rigorous assessment of in vitro toxicity, it is the author's hope that intervention strategies can be drastically improved to reduce human and animal health risk.
Download or read book Understanding Algal Bloom written by John Burton and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2023-03-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Algal bloom, also known as "harmful algal bloom" (HAB), is a natural phenomenon that occurs when certain types of algae rapidly grow and multiply in aquatic environments such as oceans, lakes, and rivers. While algal blooms can be harmless, some species of algae produce toxins that can be harmful or even deadly to aquatic life and humans. In recent years, algal blooms have become a growing concern worldwide due to their increasing frequency and severity. Climate change, pollution, and nutrient-rich runoff from agricultural and urban areas have all been linked to the rise of algal blooms in various regions. The impact of algal blooms on the environment and human health can be devastating, causing fish and other aquatic animals to suffocate, creating oxygen-deprived "dead zones" in bodies of water, and posing a serious threat to human health through contamination of drinking water sources and seafood. As such, understanding and addressing the causes and consequences of algal blooms has become a critical issue for scientists, policymakers, and communities around the globe. GRAB A COPY NOW AND HAVE A GOOD READ
Download or read book Scientific Uncertainty and Its Influence on the Public Communication Process written by Virginia H. Sublet and published by Springer. This book was released on 2010-12-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experts from academia and government who are actively engaged in research in the area of risk communication present a compendium of cases that give information and allow the development of strategies to improve the communication of scientific information to the public. The cases span Western, Central and Eastern Europe, covering such areas as nuclear waste, heavy metal contamination, landfill siting, risk perception, global warming, international health for all, and more. The conclusions and recommendations presented here are being used to develop future activities to further explore this area of risk communication as an international study. Audience: Scientists, risk communicators, psychologists, toxicologists, health professionals, and anyone who has an interest in public communication on scientific uncertainty.
Download or read book Human Health Effects from Harmful Algal Blooms written by Wayne W. Carmichael and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Understanding Spatiotemporal Patterns of Harmful Algal Blooms written by Ryan Lefaivre and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) occur due to the excessive growth of algal in waterbodies such as lakes, rivers, and ponds. The cyanotoxins produced by HABs are harmful to wildlife, animals, and humans when ingested or exposed. Due to the toxic and rapid growth of HABs, it is essential to assess potential causes of HABs over broad geographical scales. This study aims to understand the spatiotemporal patterns and drivers of HABs across the State of Illinois using both regular environmental monitoring and citizen science datasets from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). The Ambient Lake Monitoring Program (ALMP) and the Illinois Clean Lakes Program (ICLP) regularly conduct chlorophyll-a measurements, collectively referred to as the ALMP + ICLP dataset. Similarly, the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program of the IEPA organizes volunteer citizens to collect Secchi-disk measurements, known as the VLMP dataset. Machine learning algorithms including Random Forest, Artificial Neural Network, and Support Vector Machine are used to evaluate HABs and trophic states of HABs based on nine meteorological variables, six lake morphological variables, and eight land use and land cover variables. The data shows Cook county area consisted of over half of the total VLMP observations. The meteorological variables were most important for accuracy and classification in the Random Forest modeling, and the VLMP dataset performed the best at trophic state classification, and the Random Forest model performed the best overall compared to the other machine learning models. This study concludes that the VLMP is a beneficial and complementary tool when coupled with the ALMP + ICLP data for HAB monitoring in Illinois.
Download or read book Human Health Effects from Harmful Algal Blooms written by International Joint Commission. Health Professionals Advisory Board and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms written by Congressional Research Service and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-07-21 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific research indicates that in recent years, the frequency and geographic distribution of harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been increasing nationally and globally. The impacts of HABs can be severe and widespread. While algal communities are natural components of healthy aquatic ecosystems, under certain conditions (e.g., increased temperatures and nutrient concentrations), algae may grow excessively, or "bloom," and produce toxins that can harm human health, animals, aquatic ecosystems, and the economy. In 2014, a cyanobacterial HAB in Lake Erie affected the drinking water for more than 500,000 people in Toledo, Ohio. In 2016, a massive HAB in Florida's Lake Okeechobee negatively impacted tourism and aquatic life. HABs have been recorded in every state and have become a concern nationwide. Many types of algae can cause HABs in freshwater systems. The most frequent and severe blooms involve the proliferation of cyanobacteria. Some cyanobacteria species can produce toxins-cyanotoxins-that can cause mild to severe health effects in humans and kill aquatic life and other animals. HABs can also contribute to deteriorating water quality and ecosystem health. As masses of cyanobacteria or other algae die and decompose, they consume oxygen, sometimes forming "dead zones" where life cannot survive. These areas can kill fish and organisms, such as crabs and clams, and have detrimental economic effects. Scientists widely consider nutrient enrichment to be a key cause of HAB formation. While nutrients are essential to plants and natural parts of aquatic ecosystems, excessive amounts can overstimulate algal growth. Sources include point sources (e.g., municipal wastewater discharges) and nonpoint sources (e.g., fertilizer runoff from agricultural and urban areas). The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (HABHRCA), as amended, established an interagency task force, required the task force to prepare reports and plans addressing marine and freshwater HABs, and authorized funding for research, education, monitoring activities, etc. In December 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used its authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to propose water quality criteria for two algal toxins in waters used for recreational purposes. States use such criteria when developing water quality standards-measures that describe the desired condition or level of protection of a water body and what is needed for protection. Further, EPA has emphasized the need to reduce nutrient pollution from all sources to reduce public health and environmental impacts associated with HABs. The CWA does not authorize EPA to regulate all sources. It authorizes EPA to regulate point (direct) sources of nutrients but does not authorize EPA to regulate nonpoint (diffuse) sources of nutrient pollution. Some states have developed guidelines for algal toxins and have listed waters as impaired, or not meeting water quality standards, for algal blooms or algal toxins. Some of these states have begun to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)-essentially pollution budgets-to address them. Most states have identified nutrient-related pollution as a priority to be addressed by their TMDLs and/or alternative restoration plans. States rely heavily on financial assistance from EPA in implementing these plans and more broadly, in addressing nonpoint source pollution that leads to degraded water quality and HAB formation. Congress has long provided financial assistance through EPA for regional, state, and local programs through planning grants, geographic programs (such as the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes), and other sources. The President's FY2018 budget request for most of these programs is either eliminated or significantly reduced. Congress continues to show interest in funding to close research gaps identified by scientists and to coordinate the efforts of federal agencies and their partners to study and address HABs.
Download or read book Concept Method and Reality in Understanding Risk Perception written by Syd Havely and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Harmful Algal Blooms written by and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This manual contains information about the prevention, response, and avoidance of harmful algal blooms.
Download or read book Recognizing Understanding and Treating Harmful Algal Blooms HABs written by and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Web based Modeling Approach for Tracking Algal Blooms in Lower Great Lakes written by Sougandh Babu Kalluri and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ?Pub Inc The occurrence of algal blooms in the Great Lakes has been a growing concern over the past few decades, especially for toxic or harmful algal blooms (HABs). For the present work a general circulation model is used to help in understanding the movement of detected algal blooms. Most of hydrodynamic models applied to the Great Lakes have assumed idealistic forcing (meteorological) or consider specific events or limited spatial extent. There is a need to predict the transport patterns of algal blooms using real-time data which can help in identifying potential impact zones along the coast, for example. The main aim of the present work is to develop a web-based user interface for a model application in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario which will provide predictions of the path of algal blooms given the real-time initial location of the bloom. This task is achieved using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model (Princeton Ocean Model, POM) and a particle tracking model (PTM) developed at the University at Buffalo linked with real-time weather conditions. The user-friendly web page developed allows the user to select a location of interest in either lake with a choice of either real-time forward tracking up to 3 days into the future or historical runs (forward or backward tracking) starting from year 2000. In addition to the website, 3 grid size models, namely 1 km, 2 km and 4 km grids were developed to study the effect of grid size on the diffusion and in turn the particle tracks. It is observed that the diffusion increases with increase in grid size and computational run time increases with decrease in grid size of the POM. From this study, it was concluded that the 2 km resolution model would suit the needs of the web application, taking into consideration the computational resources and accuracy of the results. Simple analysis has been carried out to show that the PTM time step can be increased, relative to previous applications, without any compromise on the accuracy of the results which gives a significant run time savings. The motivation for this study came from the need to develop a complete algal transport system for Lake Erie and Lake Ontario as a part of the MERHAB-LGL project, a NOAA-sponsored study directed by Dr. Gregory Boyer at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
