$3 million more OK'd for Pfiesteria study

Congress has approved giving $3 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study the toxic microbe linked with fish kills and human ailments in Maryland last summer.

If President Clinton signs a Commerce Department appropriations bill passed late last week, NOAA can use $2 million to study outbreaks of Pfiesteria piscicida. The remainder would go to states to help monitor their waters.

Congress had approved $7 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the microbe's human health effects, and $3 million for the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate health and environmental studies.

Pub Date: 11/18/97