Ocean View businessman Bill Winkler Sr. is concerned that coastal citizens could be getting exposed to naturally occurring toxins and are not aware of it.
Winkler made a presentation at the Dec. 4 meeting of the Ocean View Town Council, discussing an incident in September in which he and some of his customers at Treasure Quest complained of coughing and difficulty breathing.
The biology major from the University of Hawaii, who has done graduate work in marine biology, said it was only after some investigation that he tied the breathing problems that day to an incident of “red tide,” or harmful algal bloom, in the waters off the coast and to a strong wind coming from the shoreline.
“There are a lot of organisms in our waters that are toxic,” Winkler told council members Tuesday, suggesting that wave action aerosolizes the toxins in the dinoflagellates and could potentially spread them far inland on days when the wind is particularly strong, as it was that day, when Winkler said wind speeds from the east exceeded 20 knots.
Winkler pointed to an organism called Karenia brevis, which is the root cause behind the phenomenon known as “Florida red tide” and which he said is known to have toxic effects on humans and to be a cause of fish kills in the Gulf of Mexico.
Back in September, Winkler said he had investigated the breathing problems he and his customers experienced, calling officials at the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to ask about air quality conditions and asking whether a portable air monitor might be made available to check on conditions in the area. He said no such meter was available to him.
Winkler also called the Ocean View Police Department about the incident that day, asking them if they had or could obtain an air quality monitor.
Police Chief Ken McLaughlin said he’d also contacted DNREC about Winkler’s report but was told that no such equipment was available. DNREC officials told him that portable air quality monitors are not available to monitor anything that might be related to a red tide event, though police departments throughout the state have monitoring devices to test for air quality problems possibly related to terrorist actions.
Winkler said he’d later had the presence of a red tide on that particular September day confirmed by scientists at the University of Delaware. Winkler said he’d been told that the Labor Day weekend had been a factor in no public notice of the red tide being immediately given.
Particularly of concern to him, Winkler said, are the threats posed by naturally aerosolized bio-toxins to those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Winkler said his main reason in bringing the September incident to the attention of the Ocean View Town Council was so that the town and its citizens might keep themselves more aware of the potential presence of the red tide organisms and thus avoid exposure to the general public, but also particularly to those with asthma or COPD.
He also pointed to ongoing development of the town’s emergency and incident management plans, which he said could be put into action based on future incidents.
“We, as citizens, have to be aware when we are near the waters of the ocean and the bays,” Winkler said, while acknowledging that tests often don’t confirm the presence of a harmful algal bloom until days after it occurs.
Ocean View council members on Tuesday asked whether the town should be applying pressure to state agencies and legislators to more closely monitor and better publicize future red tide incidents.
DNREC has no toxins plans currently in effect, Winkler emphasized, though such a plan is currently in development.
Winkler said he was primarily recommending citizens themselves monitor satellite images that could show the presence of red tide off the coast and to take water samples when an incident is suspected. He said he or University of Delaware labs could analyze the samples to confirm the presence of toxic organisms.
“I’m not saying you have to close the beaches. But they should put out an advisory for people with asthma and COPD,” Winkler replied.