UT fills in officials over some crisis-inspired Lake Erie research

Sep. 30—From algal toxins to sewage-borne viruses, University of Toledo researchers gave public officials a 90-minute update Thursday on the cross-cutting ways they are gaining a greater understanding of the science behind Lake Erie, the world's 11th-largest freshwater lake.

Most — though not all — of the presentations were inspired by the international headlines Toledo got when a waterborne algal poison called microcystin breached the city's Collins Park Water Treatment Plant and got into the distribution system that serves the metro area's nearly 500,000 residents.

It made Toledo's tap water too dangerous to drink during the first weekend of August, 2014, costing the region millions of dollars. A previously unthinkable crisis ensued, one that prompted then-Gov. John Kasich to call in the Ohio National Guard to help distribute bottled drinking water.

At UT, that crisis has led to millions of dollars of new research supported largely by state and federal agencies.

The push has gone well beyond learning more about how phosphorus, nitrogen, and other nutrients getting into waterways continue to feed algae growth.

David Kennedy, a UT associate professor of medicine, said the university's public-health component is looking at ways microcystin can affect human health when it's ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin.

"We want to come up with strategies for people who have been exposed," he said.

Microcystin particles are capable of floating as far as 30 kilometers in the air.

That's roughly 18.6 miles, meaning that concerns about aerosols shouldn't be limited to people riding boats that cut through algal blooms.

"We're interested in how these aerosols may be exacerbating asthma," Mr. Kennedy said.

Later that afternoon, during the second day of an annual two-day workshop for Ohio journalists hosted by Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State University Stone Laboratory, Mr. Kennedy cited numerous other possible health effects of microcystin exposure.

"There's some evidence these toxins will weaken the walls of lungs almost like emphysema," he said.

Microcystin is known to attack the liver.

Research under way at UT and other major universities is looking into how it might exacerbate colon cancer, and possibly a host of neurological and brain issues, such as Parkinson's disease and dementia.

Published research shows that people who have liver disease are unable as well to excrete the toxin.

"Microcystin can actually suppress danger signals of liver disease," Mr. Kennedy said.

Steve Haller, a UT associate professor of medicine, also said during the afternoon workshop with reporters that evidence shows airborne, skin, or direct consumption of microcystin can exacerbate problems for people with inflammatory bowel disease.

During the morning briefing with public officials, UT researchers went through a long list of other research projects, such as impacts of plastics pollution and residual pharmaceuticals in sewage after passage through human bodies.

Some discussions centered around projects studying the effectiveness of using certain enzymes and bacteria in water-plant sand filters.

Jason Huntley, a UT associate professor of microbiology, said people often don't realize there are many good forms of bacteria, such as those used to make beer, wine, yogurt, insulin, and other common products.

Tom Bridgeman, director of the university's Lake Erie Center as well as a UT ecology professor, said one great technology advance could be the development of portable toxin-detection machines that can take a single drop of water and give its microcystin result in 15 to 20 minutes.

"We're in the third year of this project now," Mr. Bridgeman said, noting Bowling Green State University researchers and others are also involved.

Under the current method, samples are sent off to laboratories and results can take days. Real-time results will greatly help water treatment plant operators, Mr. Bridgeman said.

UT also is part of a 10-university consortium hoping to develop new toxin measuring techniques, he said. And it is one of six universities helping the state of Ohio evaluate the nutrient-trapping effectiveness of wetlands being constructed or expanded under Gov. Mike DeWine's H2Ohio program.

One project is looking into the possibility of converting corn cobs from northwest Ohio fields into powdered activated carbon for water plants.

Christine Mayer, a UT ecology professor, gave an overview of efforts to control invasive grass carp in the Sandusky and Maumee rivers. Grass carp are one of four species commonly known as Asian carp, but while destructive, Asian carp are not quite as impactful as two others, silver Asian carp and bighead Asian carp.

She said 160 to 180 grass carp are believed to be in the Sandusky River at a given time. The figure is believed to be lower for the Maumee.

They consume some of the more valuable plants in wetlands — ones that help absorb nutrients.

"They eat a lot. They're like cows. They graze," Ms. Mayer said. "They come, and they go. They move around a lot. We don't know what's out in the lake, though. When they come in to spawn, that's when we're trying to get at them."

Frank Calzonetti, UT's vice president for research, said much of the science is affected by climate change.

"Climate change is so important for what's happening out on the lake," he said.

UT also is one of several universities working with the Ohio Department of Health on collecting and analyzing raw sewage samples for the coronavirus, research that can help tip off public health officials when new variants are coming during the pandemic.

Saurabh Chattopadhyay, a UT assistant professor of virology, said the monitoring network began in Lucas County last spring.

"We process and extract the RNA from this water twice a week. Then, we report data to the Ohio Department of Health twice a week," he said.

Ritu Chakravarti, a UT assistant professor of physiology and pharmacology, said she is leading similar research that is confined to samples from UT's campus.

"We are trying to help our local community by providing them an indicator when there could be a rise in cases and hospitalizations," she said.

First Published September 30, 2021, 4:56pm