Qingdao 2008

Global warming or global warning? A potential disaster of Olympean proportions:–

The global reporting of the environmental disaster at Qindao is abysmal. It persists in reporting the contamination as "blue-green algae" (cyanobacteria- scientific name), in spite of the official pronouncement from the website of the Olympic venue(1) that, "The algae infestation at Qingdao, dominantly(2) "enteromorpha prolifera", was first detected by the North China Sea Branch of the State Oceanic Administration and fishermen working on the sea on May 31st, 60 sea miles east off Dagong Island.

Experts found the algae was exotic [non toxic, not blue-green](3) which flew from the central region of the Yellow Sea and would cause no influences on the water quality of the sea off Qingdao coast.

Wang Shulian, vice director of Qingdao Oceanic and Fishery Department, told reporters that the outbreak of algae had not substantial link to the environmental conditions and water quality of Qingdao's offing (sic). "The algae is of various sorts, which will prosper under satisfying temperature and salinity of sea water", said Wang."

It is clear that the BBC reporting is of the same low standard. In its broadcast tonight on BBC1 (6 June 2008), it depicted members of the armed forces frolicking in the green morass and even throwing it at each other.

But if some of the "various sorts" of algae is of the blue-green variety, then there’s a more than 50% chance some of them will be of the toxic variety and they will be releasing their deadly toxins into the morass.

If this is the case, then the unfortunate soldiers and some of the 100,00 citizens volunteering their help to clear up this mess are potentially at risk from a number of illnesses ranging upwards in seriousness from the banal such as "swimmer’s itch". This “itch” is now being reported by Chinese volunteers trying to clean away the morass. If they are unfortunate enough to ingest any of the water or algae, we can expect more serious symptoms leading, in the worst scenario, to human death.

Congratulations are due to the Chinese people for their strenuous efforts to remove this most intactable foe. But - we need to know a lot more before our sportsmen and women are to be subjected to such a potentially hazardous situation!

It this event was to take place in the UK or Scotland under existing environmental protocols, the venue would be closed down and people warned of the potential dangers. This occurred recently as the 25th May 2008 when an “Algae bloom forces cancellation of British Triathlon Age Group Sprint Championships”
The North Lanarkshire Council, in consultation with the Scottish Evironment Protection Agency and NHS Lanarkshire took the decision to cancel the event following the identification of high levels of an unusual(?) algae bloom in the loch.

Qingdao directly mirrors that event in that they are both the result of blooms (allegedly non-toxic (green) algae; I say “alledgedly because we have not been given the details of the “other algae” which are also present at Qingdao and of the unusual(?) alga - the Chrysochromulina parva (Prymnesiophyceae) which is potentially toxic(4).

We so need to know more and soon.

At Qingdao, even if the authorities succeed, against all the odds, in clearing the visible signs of the algae, the invisible signs (cyanotoxins - if there are any present) will linger on for weeks. The best advice available to participants and visitors to the sailing events is, do not eat local fish, cooked or raw, and definitely do not eat crustaceans – the latter have the nasty habit of storing up the cyanotoxins and increasing their virulence.

Oh, and by the way, keep out of the water!

Happy Holiday and good luck.

1. source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/olympiccities/q... .
2. my edit.
3. my interjection
4. source
http://www.springerlink.com/content/a73646713...