Question

Large slimy blue-green algae (BGA) blooms have been found in Lake Okeechobee and waters flowing downstream. Florida’s government wants to strengthen water quality policies to address this issue. You are an environmental health specialist that has been asked to use your scientific expertise to testify in front of the State Legislature as to why they should vote to pass the recent bill.

In your testimony, you need to define what BGA is, its effect on the environment, and its health effects on humans and animals. Explain the factors that cause BGA blooms, and what factors continue their spread. Using each of the four major components to be considered in policy development (harm, risk, impacts, and social costs), discuss how the new water policies will affect the social and economic health of Florida.

Answer 1

The BGA or the blue green algae are actually the cyanobacteria that are photosynthetic in nature due to presence of various photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll A , chlorophyll B and Xanthophyll giving different shades of green and blue colour to the bacteria . Their multiplying capacity is very high and the divide at a much faster rate giving out slime like appearance. Examples of blue green algae nostoc and anabaena , microcystis floats on the water bodies . The high slime mass of the cyanobacteria are known as blooms. There are various reasons that leads to high growth of the cyanobacteria such as the nutrient imbalance in the water bodies. The main nutrient for the growth of cyanobacteria is the phosphorus along with the nitrogen deficiency. Nitrogen mainly exist in the form of nitrates in the water. The treatment of the blue green algae includes the fogging of the hydrogen peroxide . Another method includes the addition of nitrogenous compounds in the form of nitrates to prevent the growth of the cyanobacteria. Some algicides are also used for the killing of this cyanobacteria such as Blue exit . The cyanobacteria results in the depletion of oxygen in the the water bodies leading to the the death of the water animals and inhibits the growth of other water plants and phytoplanktons.

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