Cyanotoxins – Advancing Drinking Water Science to Protect Human Health

Date: Monday, July 2, 2018
Time: 1:00 to 2:30 PM (eastern)

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The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) is pleased to announce a free webinar entitled, “Cyanotoxins – Advancing Drinking Water Science to Protect Human Health.” This is the second webinar in a series of planned ASDWA talks by USGS scientists.

Optimized drinking water treatment is necessary to mitigate a range of chemical and biological risks, including cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria. Visible cyanobacteria or detectable cyanotoxins in surface waters may trigger drinking water treatment modification or the use of alternative water supplies, which often require substantial economic investments with little advanced notification. Multiple approaches are required to better understand actual risks to human health and facilitate the development of tools that guide drinking water treatment and human health decisions. Currently, non-enforceable USEPA Health Advisories are available for some cyanotoxins in finished drinking. Decision makers need to balance the management of contaminants that are regulated and unregulated in drinking water, as well as the costs of achieving treatment targets. This webinar will focus on cyanotoxin occurrence and potential exposures in the Nation’s surface water resources. Tools that are being developed and used to quantify changing water quality conditions that may affect drinking water treatment processes and potential for cyanotoxin exposure also will be described. Information will be presented from the perspective of USGS scientists and the Ohio EPA to demonstrate how converging lines of evidence can be used to better understand and be prepared for cyanobacteria-related events.

Speakers:

Keith A. Loftin, Ph.D. – Research Chemist, USGS Kansas Water Science Center

Jennifer L. Graham, Ph.D. – Research Hydrologist, USGS Kansas Water Science Center

Ruth Briland – Division of Drinking and Ground Waters, Ohio EPA