Possible Health Hazard in NC and MD

Gordon (hlg@pacbell.net)
Fri, 18 Sep 1998 14:27:43 -0700


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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The following is from the Sunfish mail list but could be of interest to
Potter sailors also.

Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA
___________________________________________________________

>I am forwarding information that came in on our optometric listserve. Those
>of you who sail in southern Maryland eastern shore and in the North
>Carolina Neuse River area may want to exercise caution sailing in those
>areas.
>
>MY synopsis of this is that they can not yet prove adverse affects from
>this organism in the water, but the reports continue to indicate possible
>serious long term effects, including loss of mental facilities.
>
>I personally would not sail my Sunfish in these areas, and would probably
>not sail my keel boat there either, although I do sail further north and
>west on the Chesapeake with no fear of problems. Stay away from the pig
>farms.
>
>Ed Wagman
>77318
>----------
>> From: fliiii@aol.com
>> To: Optcomlist - Global OD Discussion Group
><optcomlist@lists.optcom3.com>
>> Subject: in the news
>> Date: Friday, September 18, 1998 10:10 AM
>>
>> Medical study links Pfiesteria to vision problems
>>
>>
>> RALEIGH, N.C. (Reuters) - A toxic organism believed
>> responsible for sporadic fish kills in East Coast estuaries may
>> be more hazardous to swimmers and fishermen than initially
>> thought, a government researcher warned Thursday.
>> A preliminary study of fishermen exposed to the Pfiesteria
>> piscicida organism suggested for the first time that vision may
>> be affected by exposure to the microbe's toxins,
>> neurotoxicologist Kenneth Hudnell said.
>> Since the fishermen also had not been exposed to the toxin
>> for several months, the study indicated that Pfiesteria exposure
>> may produce persistent health effects in people, said Hudnell, a
>> researcher with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lab
>> outside Raleigh, N.C
>> ``Further research is needed before definitive conclusions
>> can be made as to whether Pfiesteria may adversely effect vision
>> or pose other human-health risks,'' he said.
>> Pfiesteria outbreaks have been blamed for several major fish
>> kills in North Carolina and Maryland estuaries, but health
>> officials have differed over the lasting effects of the toxin on
>> people using the rivers.
>> A North Carolina medical study in June reported no link
>> between exposure and chronic health effects, while earlier
>> Maryland studies determined that exposure may cause temporary
>> short-term memory loss, confusion and other cognitive
>> impairments.
>> Still, North Carolina health officials have posted warnings
>> along the Lower Neuse River, the site of a seven-mile-long fish
>> kill in July, advising swimmers and fishermen to avoid dead or
>> dying fish.
>> In the latest study, Hudnell said the exposed fishermen's
>> ability to detect patterns in a standard vision test was reduced
>> by about 30 percent. The test measured the amount of contrast
>> between light and dark bars needed before a person could see a
>> pattern.
>> Hudnell said the fishermens' ability to focus on objects was
>> similar to fishermen not exposed to the toxin.
>> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention next year
>> will conduct the most extensive study to date on the effects of
>> Pfiesteria on humans, testing 100 people exposed to the toxin in
>> North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.
>>
>> Richard J. Cohen, O.D.
>> Boca Raton, FL

That was followed by the following post:

"Please beware of news articles, no matter how scientific they sound.
The local New Bern paper carried the same article with the addition that
even the vision degradation is not absolutely proved and represented two
groups, "exposed watermen from the river and those working offshore ...
the control group". Neither group was more than 20 individuals.
Most fish kills can be attributed to depletion of oxygen as a result of
too many nutrients in the water ... read that "municipal waste, golf
course run-off, lawn over-fertilization, hog waste spills, failing
septic systems and a multitude of other polluting sources, general
litter and the Clinton/Lewisinsky situation". There is plenty of blame
to go around. Pfiesteria certainly is a factor in stressed fish
populations but the effects on humans is still open to debate. Rather
than painting the entire river with the same toxic brush, I simply stay
away from dead fish floating on the surface. And yes, there are areas
of the river that I would not fish in or go crabbing, but news stories
will not keep me ashore on a great sailing day.

Mick Roberts
Oriental, NC
On the Neuse River"