Mote to test Sarasota's air for red tide levels
The Florida Department of Health has reached an agreement with Mote Marine Laboratory to start air quality monitoring for red tide beginning Oct. 8. The first three counties sampled will be Pinellas, Sarasota, and Lee counties.
Mote said in an emailed statement Thursday that their scientists will work closely with the the Florida DOH to better understand the levels of aerosolized red tide brevetoxins that humans are exposed to at inland sites. Past research revealed that brevetoxins in the air can travel up to 2.6 miles inland, "and according to anecdotal reports, some members of the public have experienced respiratory irritation at sites even further from shore during the current bloom," the research center stated.
Read more: Complete coverage of red tide in Southwest Florida
Richard Pierce, an ecotoxicologist at Mote, says Mote will place air sampling instruments in a transect that reaches further inland than previous studies have covered, to see what concentrations of brevetoxins, if any, are traveling the distances being reported by the public.
Sampling beginning Oct. 8 in Sarasota County will range from 8 to 10 miles inland and later be conducted in Pinellas and Lee counties in an order where red tide is most severe. Mote scientists are using 12 air samplers deployed for six to 12 hours at a time. They will pull a known volume of air through filter. to collect any toxins.
The samples will be analyzed at Mote's ecotoxicology lab in Sarasota.
Mote has conducted previous studies on the inland transport of aerosolized red tide in 2010, and a 10-year review of Florida red tide and human health effects in 2011.
"It is important to understand the composition and concentrations of aerosolized brevetoxins to provide improved public information to those sensitive to these toxins — particularly people with chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma," Pierce said. "Red tide brevetoxins affect the nervous system, and when inhaled they cause respiratory irritation including coughing, sneezing, and a scratchy throat, and can trigger an asthmatic attack."
Southwest Florida red tide levels are persisting, but have decreased in areas near Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties. The water samples were taken less than 10 miles offshore. Limited fish kills have been reported in those counties.
Sarasota and Manatee samples were low on the Gulf, while bay areas showed high levels.
Red tide observed in the Florida panhandle near Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, and Pasco counties show medium concentrations of the algae. Fish kills were reported.
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