Abstract
In recent years, the international demand for commodities has prompted enormous growth in agriculture in most South American countries. Due to intensive use of fertilizers, cyanobacterial blooms have become a recurrent phenomenon throughout the continent, but their potential health risk remains largely unknown due to the lack of analytical capacity. In this paper we report the main results and conclusions of more than five years of systematic monitoring of cyanobacterial blooms in 20 beaches of Montevideo, Uruguay, on the Rio de la Plata, the fifth largest basin in the world. A locally developed microcystin ELISA was used to establish a sustainable monitoring program that revealed seasonal peaks of extremely high toxicity, more than one-thousand-fold greater than the WHO limit for recreational water. Comparison with cyanobacterial cell counts and chlorophyll-a determination, two commonly used parameters for indirect estimation of toxicity, showed that such indicators can be highly misleading. On the other hand, the accumulated experience led to the definition of a simple criterion for visual classification of blooms, that can be used by trained lifeguards and technicians to take rapid on-site decisions on beach management. The simple and low cost approach is broadly applicable to risk assessment and risk management in developing countries.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 63-71 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Environmental Management |
| Volume | 114 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 5 2013 |
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Keywords
- Cyanobacteria
- ELISA
- Harmful algal blooms
- Microcystins
- South America
- Uruguay
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Engineering
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Cite this
Limited analytical capacity for cyanotoxins in developing countries may hide serious environmental health problems : Simple and affordable methods may be the answer. / Pírez, Macarena; Gonzalez-Sapienza, Gualberto; Sienra, Daniel; Ferrari, Graciela; Last, Michael; Last, Jerold A; Brena, Beatriz M.
In: Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 114, 05.01.2013, p. 63-71.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Limited analytical capacity for cyanotoxins in developing countries may hide serious environmental health problems
T2 - Simple and affordable methods may be the answer
AU - Pírez, Macarena
AU - Gonzalez-Sapienza, Gualberto
AU - Sienra, Daniel
AU - Ferrari, Graciela
AU - Last, Michael
AU - Last, Jerold A
AU - Brena, Beatriz M.
PY - 2013/1/5
Y1 - 2013/1/5
N2 - In recent years, the international demand for commodities has prompted enormous growth in agriculture in most South American countries. Due to intensive use of fertilizers, cyanobacterial blooms have become a recurrent phenomenon throughout the continent, but their potential health risk remains largely unknown due to the lack of analytical capacity. In this paper we report the main results and conclusions of more than five years of systematic monitoring of cyanobacterial blooms in 20 beaches of Montevideo, Uruguay, on the Rio de la Plata, the fifth largest basin in the world. A locally developed microcystin ELISA was used to establish a sustainable monitoring program that revealed seasonal peaks of extremely high toxicity, more than one-thousand-fold greater than the WHO limit for recreational water. Comparison with cyanobacterial cell counts and chlorophyll-a determination, two commonly used parameters for indirect estimation of toxicity, showed that such indicators can be highly misleading. On the other hand, the accumulated experience led to the definition of a simple criterion for visual classification of blooms, that can be used by trained lifeguards and technicians to take rapid on-site decisions on beach management. The simple and low cost approach is broadly applicable to risk assessment and risk management in developing countries.
AB - In recent years, the international demand for commodities has prompted enormous growth in agriculture in most South American countries. Due to intensive use of fertilizers, cyanobacterial blooms have become a recurrent phenomenon throughout the continent, but their potential health risk remains largely unknown due to the lack of analytical capacity. In this paper we report the main results and conclusions of more than five years of systematic monitoring of cyanobacterial blooms in 20 beaches of Montevideo, Uruguay, on the Rio de la Plata, the fifth largest basin in the world. A locally developed microcystin ELISA was used to establish a sustainable monitoring program that revealed seasonal peaks of extremely high toxicity, more than one-thousand-fold greater than the WHO limit for recreational water. Comparison with cyanobacterial cell counts and chlorophyll-a determination, two commonly used parameters for indirect estimation of toxicity, showed that such indicators can be highly misleading. On the other hand, the accumulated experience led to the definition of a simple criterion for visual classification of blooms, that can be used by trained lifeguards and technicians to take rapid on-site decisions on beach management. The simple and low cost approach is broadly applicable to risk assessment and risk management in developing countries.
KW - Cyanobacteria
KW - ELISA
KW - Harmful algal blooms
KW - Microcystins
KW - South America
KW - Uruguay
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84870379732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84870379732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.10.052
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.10.052
M3 - Article
C2 - 23220602
AN - SCOPUS:84870379732
VL - 114
SP - 63
EP - 71
JO - Journal of Environmental Management
JF - Journal of Environmental Management
SN - 0301-4797
ER -