Death on the Beach
Human activity transforming world’s beaches, coastal waters into killing fields
Saint-Michel-en-Greve, Brittany, France
Thousands of tons of noxious algae are piling up on northern beaches of France emitting deadly hydrogen sulfide. The latest reported victim was a horse which collapsed and died after inhaling the deadly gas.
The concentration of hydrogen sulfide recorded in the bay at Saint-Michel-en-Greve, produced by rotting algae, has reached 1,000 parts per million (PPM), twice the 500PPM level that is potentially fatal if inhaled, according to a report commissioned by France’s Ecology Minister.
Green algae covers the beach at Saint-Michel-en-Greve, western France, August 20, 2009. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) produced by mounds of decomposing green algae is now a major concern across the Brittany region. (Image: ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images). Image may be subject to copyright.
The horse’s rider reportedly lost consciousness and could have died, had he not been be dragged out of a deep pool of decomposing sludge.
Excess nitrogen [and phosphorus] farm runoff and sewage flow washed off into the world’s coastal waters [and all other water bodies,] fuel algal blooms.
“Environmentalists are demanding action to promote organic farming in the region, where 60 percent of French pigs are reared.” Reuters reported.
Green tides are usually caused by a proliferation of chlorophytas (usually ulvas, occasionally enteromorphas). These blooms develope every spring and summer on several European coasts: in Limfjord and the fjord of Roskilde in Denmark; the Veerse Meer, the Netherlands; the lagoon of Venice. In France green tides appear in the lagoons situated on the coast of the Languedoc region (gulf of Lyon), in the Atlantic bay of Arcachon (in this case the proliferation is due to Monostroma obscurum), and on some 50 of Breton beaches. The latter eutrophication process is caused by the species called Ulva armoricana and Ulva rotundata [the edible seaweeds.]
A green tide in Brittany, beach of Saint-Michel en Grève/Saint Efflam ((photograph by J.Y. Piriou, Ifremer). Image may be subject to copyright.
Northern Beaches of the North Island, New Zealand
“Mysterious” death has claimed hundreds of animals on New Zealand Beaches, including dolphins, penguins, pilchards and local dogs
Extensive farm runoff and sewage contamination in New Zealand coastal waters, which spurs growth of potentially deadly algal blooms [cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, or Cyanophyta,] toxic algae poisoning may prove to be the main cause of the animal deaths.
Deadly fish have been found washed up on the Petone foreshore, prompting a warning to the public to steer clear of them. Photo: PHIL REID/The Dominion Post. Image may be subject to copyright. [Source: New Zeelend Blog.]
“Touching a dead animal on the beach could be enough to endanger human life, said Cawthron Institute algae specialist Paul McNabb.” NZHerald earlier reported.
“People can die from this,” Mr McNabb said.
“If you put a slug in your mouth, you’d be vomiting and your entire body would be tingling.
“Within minutes you’d be paralysed. Your heart and lungs would shut down and you’d be dead within the hour.
“Or if you touched it and it was all over your hands and you went and ate a sandwich …” [Source: NZ Beach poison will kill you in an hour]
Related Links:
- Hundreds of Dead Animals Litter NZ Beaches
- Lethal Coastal Waters Kill Deadly Fish!
- New Zealand Beach poison will kill you in an hour
- Dolphins and penguins are dying too!
- Poxy New Zealand: The Land of Mysterious Deaths
- Dogs in Rigor Mortis and Dead Pilchards…
- NZ Terminal Toxic Syndrome
- 10 Worst Places
- Truth About NZ
- NZ sewage-infested coasts have sharks too!
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