Reflexión integral sobre la configuración espacial de la

Cyanobacteria have been monitored in the bathing waters of Finland since 1985, first by the guidance document given by the National Board of Health and later by the Degree of the Minis- try of Social Affairs and Health. Together with adoption of the Directive 2006/7/EC of the Euro- pean Parliament and of the Council concerning the management of bathing water quality, which requests monitoring of cyanobacterial proliferation, the central authority National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health gave more detailed guidelines (Fig. 3). The monitoring is large- ly based on visual inspection on the site, as described above (Table 1).

Visual Inspection on Site Not Detected (0) Detected (1) High Amount (2)

Very High Amount (3) Microscopical Examination Analysis of Toxins No Action

Alert _{Immediate Warning}

to the Public

Compulsory Preferred Special situations*

*e.g. drinking water source, persistent bloom, popular beach, adverse health effects or animal poisonings reported

Visual Inspection on Site Not Detected (0) Detected (1) High Amount (2)

Very High Amount (3) Microscopical Examination Analysis of Toxins No Action

Alert _{Immediate Warning}

to the Public

Compulsory Preferred Special situations*

*e.g. drinking water source, persistent bloom, popular beach, adverse health effects or animal poisonings reported

Fig. 3. Monitoring of cyanobacteria in bathing waters and in raw water supplies for drinking water.

The monitoring scheme is based on scientific research and risk assessment, and the cost of such monitoring is relatively low. In the monitoring of recreational waters the importance of immediate warning of water users of the risk caused by cyanobacteria should be the main target. This target can be achieved only by rapid and thus relatively simple means. Immediate warning is achieved by obligation of the municipal health authorities to place warning signs to the public beaches if visual inspection shows that cyanobacteria exist in high or very high number in the bathing water. Warning signs were recommended already in the guidance document for authorities in 1984. Later, in 1996, this obligation was put into the national legislation. After publication of the implementing decision by the European Commission establishing symbols for information to the public on bathing water classification and any bathing prohibition or advice against bathing (European Commission 2011), the same symbols (Fig. 4), supplemented by additional information on adverse health effects by cyanobacteria and their toxins, are used for warning of the bathers of the risk caused by cyanobacteria.

Fig. 4: Bathing prohibited -symbol in Finnish according the Commission implementing decision 2011/321/EU.

According to research results, more than half of cyanobacterial mass occurrences are toxic. Thus, the presence of cyanobacteria alone is a strong indication of potential health hazard. Analysis of specific toxins from bathing water samples is too time-consuming in order to meet the need of rapid assessment and action. If e.g. microcystins were analysed from the water samples, there might still be other hazardous compounds present in the water, because cyano- bacteria produce a variety of different toxins and yet still unidentified potentially toxic com- pounds. Therefore, we recommend analysis of specific toxins only in special situations.

During the study in 2003−2005 (Table 2) also adverse health hazards linked with exposure of bathers (n=159) to cyanobacteria were studied. The data was gathered from the telephone calls of the 24-hour telephone service of the Poison Information Centre at Helsinki University Hospi- tal. This service provides medical advice for persons in acute poisonings of any kind. Yearly, approximately 100 telephone calls are received concerning adverse health effects suspected to be caused by cyanobacteria, but during summers of high cyanobacterial occurrence there have been more than 350 contacts. Data for the health symptoms (Fig. 5) after exposure to cyano- bacteria were collected by the telephone calls and structured interviews of the patients. Two interviews were made, one immediately when the exposed persons contacted and another after approximately two weeks after the exposure. Samples were collected from the exposure sites as soon as possible after the telephone call of the exposed persons (normally within one day),

and the water was analyzed for all the known cyanobacterial toxins and bacterial lipopolysac- charide endotoxins. While these data indicated no correlation between the symptoms and the toxin concentrations they showed that gastrointestinal symptoms occurred among more than 50% of those who called the Poison Information Centre, and that fever, skin irritations and symptoms of head, ear, eyes, nose and throat were reported by more than 30% of the persons (Rapala 2007, Berg et al. 2011). Musculoskeletal and neurological symptoms that were reported by less than 10% of the persons were tentatively associated with the presence of the cyanobac- terial genus Anabaena lemmermannii (Lepistö et al. 2005).

Drinking water

The monitoring scheme presented for environmental samples and bathing waters is also suit- able for risk management purposes in drinking water supplies. Scientific studies on the occur- rence of cyanobacteria and their toxins have been conducted since 1990’s from approximately 30 drinking water treatment plants that use surface water as their raw water (Lahti et al. 2001, Rapala et al. 2006). Toxins have been measured from the incoming raw water, after different treatment processes and from treated drinking water. The drinking water treatment plants in- cluded surface water plants as well as bank filtration and artificial groundwater plants. Although cyanobacteria mainly exist in great masses during summertime, high numbers of cyanobacteria (Planktothrix agardhii) have caused problems in at least one surface water plant (Fig. 6) and one artificial groundwater plant during the winter. High numbers of cyanobacteria in the raw wa- ter have for example clogged the filters of the drinking water treatment plants, and obliged them to enhance the water treatment processes and extend the monitoring period of the toxins year- round.

The guidelines given by the central authority National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health for monitoring cyanobacteria in incoming raw water and in distributed drinking water, the actions to be undertaken by the water treatment facility and by the authorities and the commu- nication strategies are summarized in Table 3. The guidelines have been partly modified from

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Muut oireet Neurologiset oireet**** TULES*** Pahoinvointi Päänsärky HEENT** Iho-oireet Lämmönnousu Suolisto-oireet* 86(54%) % 64(40%) 59(37%) 54(34%) 45(28%) 42(26%) 9(6%) 8(5%) 29(18%) Gastrointestinal Fever Skin HEENT* Headache Nausea Musculoskeletal Neurological Others

Fig. 5: Number of bathers (and percentage) that reported the specific symptoms after recrea-

tional exposure to cyanobacteria in the monitoring study in 2003−2005. The X-Axis shows the

percentage of bathers that reported the specific symptoms in relation to the total number of

those presented by WHO and by the Australian National Health and Medicinal Council, and they are also based on the wide research conducted at the Finnish drinking water treatment plants.

According to the studies conducted at the drinking water treatment plants, the reference point where the microcystin concentration exceeds 1 µg/L in the incoming raw water is relatively common at a few drinking water treatment plants. However, in the few cases when microcystins have been detected in the treated drinking water, the highest concentrations have been well below the WHO provisional guideline value of 1 µg/L. When microcystin was detected in drink- ing water cyanobacterial cells were also present, and in these cases it is likely that the consum- ers complained about the taste and odour of the water. Situations with > 1 µg/L microcystins in the treated drinking water (i.e. concentrations higher than the reference point) and delivered to consumers are thus highly improbable. The extreme scenario of > 10 µg/L microcystins in the last row of Table 3 has never been encountered and is not expected to be; nonetheless a planned response is included in the strategy.