Possibly one of the biggest public health issues in Australia could be centred around the poor state of the Murray/Darling river system.
A paper about toxic water was published this year that flew under the radar ...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29724339The paper simply confirms what scientists already suspected, that two dangerous amino acids, BMAA and 2,4-DAB, are found in Australian waterways.
A bit of detail on it here ...
https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/discove ... -australia These are natural amino acids found in water subject to algal blooms.
The Murray/Darling recorded one of the worst known algal blooms not so long ago. Its continuing poor condition is well known.
BMAA and 2,4-DAB will be in the Murray/Darling, and everywhere else there are blooms, even - importantly - in farm dams. BMAA is found in some marine algal blooms.
The problem is that BMAA - now more abundant because of over-fertilised waters, warmth and lack of water flow - is implicated in the worst neurodegenerative diseases.
A link to a disease like ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease/Motor Neurone Disease) was first noticed in Guam where locals had a high BMAA diet.
It has since been noticed that people who live near some lakes in the USA are more likely to get motor neurone disease ...
http://www.unhmagazine.unh.edu/sp09/dan ... aters.htmlIt has also been noticed that people in Australia's Riverland have a high prevalence of motor neurone disease.
Scientists say BMAA is also likely tied to Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases.
The great problem is that water drawn from BMAA sources can contaminate food, including livestock that drinks the water, and crops. And who ends up eating it? Punters everywhere.
BMAA implications are discussed in this story ...
http://discovermagazine.com/2011/may/22 ... parkinsonsSo, Australia's food bowl, the Riverland, with its world-class algal blooms, might be a significant source of BMAA.
Fishermen should care more because they are already exposed to BMAA. Marine algal blooms can contain it, so can fish, and especially some types of crabs.
BMAA bioaccumulates bit by bit.
Australia and the world may need new water standards for watering livestock and crops.
What a surprise to hear that we need clean flowing water to thrive eh!
Four Corners, where are ya? There is still debate about this issue but it sure looks the smoking gun is there.