Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water: A Guide to their Public Health Consequences, Monitoring and Management [Paperback]

Ingrid Chorus (Editor), Jamie Bartram (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0419239308 | ISBN-13: 978-0419239307 | Edition: 1

Cyanobacteria and their toxins are an increasing global public health menace. Most recently, problems have been experienced in Australia, the United States and, due to drought and increasing water scarcity, pose a severe threat in the U.K. With an international range of contributors, all leading experts in their fields, Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water examines the increasing need to protect drinking water and water resources from the hazards of Cyanobacteria and their impact on health. Written and edited by a World Health Organization working group, Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water is an operational handbook in a practical, assessible style.
Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water will be invaluable to environmental health officers, professionals in the fields of water supply, public health, fresh water ecology and education, national and international organizations, special interest groups, post-graduate students and utilities responsible for managing drinking water supplies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book is packed with useful information and provides an excellent review of the present state of knowledge. The frequent use of text boxes to describe case histories makes it easy to read, and the many well-structured tables are very useful summaries that make it easy to find information quickly. Anyone involved in management of waters afflicted with cynanobacterial blooms will find this book invaluable. - American Society of Limnology and Oceanography

An extensive list of internationally renowned contributors, and reviewers, makes this an important text, and indeed an invluable source of information to all with an interest in cyanobacteria (undergraduate and postgraduate students, professionals in the fields of water management and supply, environmental and public health and education groups). It is also extremely well referenced and modestly priced. European Journal of Phycology, Vol. 36, 2001.

A precisely compiled and edited, practical synthesis of an emerging topic worldwide essential for everyone from the freshwater scientist to the manager of a small rural water supply. The editors and contributors are to be congratulated for setting an industry standard - SILnews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Spon Press; 1 edition (March 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0419239308
• ISBN-13: 978-0419239307
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,568,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive and useful book on toxic cyanobacteria, June 16, 2000

By 

Marta (São Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water: A Guide to their Public Health Consequences, Monitoring and Management (Paperback)

This publication is useful to professionals dealing with problems related to Harmful Algal Blooms, including public health, water supply and management staff, since it discusses monitoring programmes and criteria for different water uses (drinking water, recreational uses, organisms consumption, haemodialysis), as well as a thorough discussion on remedial measures. It is essential to environment control officers, and because it was published on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO) it can be used as an official advice for countries lacking specific legislation on the subject. It is useful as well for undergraduate and graduate students as its introduction and initial chapters present a summary on cyanobacteria and its ecology (diversity, distribution, related environmental factors) and physiology. It then presents the different toxins produced by these organisms and their consequences to human health as well as a discussion on safe levels and safe practices for each water use. This book discusses the importance of this problem worldwide, through several case studies and was produced by a group of well known researchers from various continents. Some issues and events are discussed in several self-explained boxes within the publication, which are intelligible and useful. The final chapters discuss risk management, monitoring programmes, field work, sampling and analytical methodology, including phytoplankton, clorophyll a and nutrients analysis, essential for those concerned with hazard identification and evaluation. This book is also interesting to everyone concerned with water quality and environmental issues, for cyanobacteria blooms are a widespread problem which results of excessive nutriet loads on water bodies, mostly because of inadequate land use and inefficient water quality policies. Ultimately its remediation depends on public awareness.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water-from beginners to advanced, June 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water: A Guide to their Public Health Consequences, Monitoring and Management (Paperback)

I would recomend this book to anyone looking for a comprehensive and easy to read text about toxic cyanobacteria. Chorus and Bartram have managed to fit together a great deal of very informative notes by many different authors in a format that progresses naturally from basic concepts of cyanobacteria and their helpful/harmful effects to what can be done to monitor, and manage them. Wheter you are just becoming interested in cyanobacteria or lake health, or have been studying it for many years, this book should be part of your collection. The section on analytical methods for cyanobacteria provide excellent basic methodology in this area, but anyone wishing to undertake detailed analysis not from scratch would also be well off searching published methods in scientific journals as they will not find all the nitty gritty details they will need.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive publication on toxic cyanobacteria, June 16, 2000

By 

Marta (São Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water: A Guide to their Public Health Consequences, Monitoring and Management (Paperback)

This publication is useful to professionals dealing with problems related to Harmful Algal Blooms, including public health, water supply and management staff, since it discusses monitoring programmes and criteria for different water uses (drinking water, recreational uses, organisms consumption, haemodialysis), as well as a thorough discussion on remedial measures. It is essential to environment control officers, and because it was published on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO) it can be used as an official advice for countries lacking specific legislation on the subject. It is useful as well for undergraduate and graduate students as its introduction and initial chapters present a summary on cyanobacteria and its ecology (diversity, distribution, related environmental factors) and physiology. It then presents the different toxins produced by these organisms and their consequences to human health as well as a discussion on safe levels and safe practices for each water use. This book discusses the importance of this problem worldwide, through several case studies and was produced by a group of well known researchers from various continents. Some issues and events are discussed in several self-explained boxes within the publication, which are intelligible and useful. The final chapters discuss risk management, monitoring programmes, field work, sampling and analytical methodology, including phytoplankton, clorophyll a and nutrients analysis, essential for those concerned with hazard identification and evaluation. This book is also interesting to everyone concerned with water quality and environmental issues, for cyanobacteria blooms are a widespread problem which results of excessive nutriet loads on water bodies, mostly because of inadequate land use and inefficient water quality policies. Ultimately its remediation depends on public awareness.