A state task force appointed to advise lawmakers on Florida’s toxic algae problems is considering a toxic algae water quality standard.
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The standard specifically would apply to microcystins, or toxins produced by a species of algae called cyanobacteria or blue-green algae.
The Blue-Green Algae Task Force considered whether the standard would be redundant with existing standards.
“I do think there is a almost public responsibility or a social responsibility for the state to take a stand and set a numeric standard for toxins in its waters,” says Jim Sullivan of Florida Atlantic University.
The task force’s previous recommendations were written into this year’s Clean Waterways Act, legislation that environmental groups said did not go far enough.
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