Copper Sulfate Treatments for Lakes Threaten Visitors and Wildlife
Treating lakes with copper sulfate can get rid of blue-green algae, but it is expensive, laborious and potentially harmful to people and wildlife.
(PRWEB) June 21, 2005 -- Until recently, treating lake waters with copper
sulfate was accepted as an expensive and laborious method of killing blue-green
algae. But after years of pouring innumerable tons of such copper compounds
into lakes throughout North America, the use of these herbicides has proved to
be hazardous endangering lake habitats, wildlife, and people who use those
waters. Fortunately, a growing number of states have banned copper treatment of
lake waters. Also, agencies such as EPA and OSHA have begun educating the public
about the hazards of such usage.
Small, “trace” amounts of the element
copper are essential for good health in humans. However, exposure to greater
quantities can be very harmful – even fatal. Copper sulfate is toxic to people
as well as animals and numerous forms of marine life. In people, unsafe exposure
to this herbicide may affect the liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract.
Swimmers with a history of chronic respiratory or skin disease may be at
increased risk, in addition to headaches plus irritation of the eyes, nose and
mouth from exposure to copper compounds in water.
Moreover, long periods
of copper treatments have increased blue-green algae resistance. In
such cases higher concentrations of copper treatments may be required,
correspondingly increasing the risks of hazardous exposure.
Also,
spreading copper treatments within permissible concentrations across a lake is
problematic, due to currents and irregularities in water depths. In some
instances, copper treatments cause very high toxicity in portions of a
lake.
A Cost-Effective, Non-Toxic Solution
Due to all the health and
economic problems associated with stagnant water and chemical treatments, the
use of water circulators for cleaning up and maintaining lakes and reservoirs
has gained remarkable interest in recent years.
"If you can create
sufficient circulation, blue-green algae problems and other unwanted water
conditions can be avoided or even corrected," says Joel Bleth, president of Pump
Systems, Inc. (PSI), Dickinson, ND. "Sufficient water circulation will minimize
or eliminate the need for chemical and carbon treatments because it prevents
this type of algae takeover."
To provide reliable and flexible
circulation, PSI developed SolarBee™, a floating self-contained system for use
in lakes and reservoirs. Powered by solar modules, a single SolarBee unit can
draw up to 10,000 gallons of water per minute and spread it gently across the
surface for continuous aeration 24-hours per day. The system's mixing action
prevents the takeover of blue-green algae and promotes a good crop of diatoms
and green algae ("good algae"), zooplankton and dissolved oxygen.
The
ability of this water treatment technology to effectively control problematic blue-green
algae blooms by habitat disruption – rather than copper sulfate – has been
well documented. In numerous applications these circulators virtually eliminated
the high costs of copper treatments. Also, water clarity was often greatly
improved, sediments reduced, and fish populations improved.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb252402.htm