By Timothy B. Wheeler , tim.wheeler@baltsun.com|July 07, 2009
The same pollution afflicting the Chesapeake Bay's fish and shellfish poses human health risks to people in the region, from bacteria and harmful algae in the water to contaminants in fish and drinking water, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says.
In a report released today, the Annapolis-based environmental group said the incidents of infection and illness among people who swim and wade in the bay's waters warrant greater government action to protect the public from pollution.
"Dirty water doesn't only have an economic impact, it's got a human health impact as well," said William C. Baker, foundation president. "People are getting sick, and in some cases severely so."
The group sued the Environmental Protection Agency in January, accusing the federal government of failing to enforce the Clean Water Act in not taking a stronger hand in the 26-year bay cleanup effort. Baker said the group has been unable so far to negotiate an acceptable settlement with agency officials.
The report quotes scientists saying that the same nutrient pollution turning much of the bay into an oxygen-starved "dead zone" for fish is a factor in the growth of dangerous bacteria, such as Vibrio and Cryptosporidium, as well as harmful blooms of blue-green algae.
The number of Vibrio infections in Maryland has increased from 18 in 2001 to 33 in 2008, the report says, but the increase may stem in part from a change in reporting requirements. Vibrio are a class of bacteria found naturally in most water, but certain species can cause skin ulcers and blood infections in people with exposed cuts, or severe gastrointestinal illness in people who eat contaminated shellfish.
Bacteria and disease-causing organisms from animal or human waste pose another threat to those who come in contact with bay waters, the report says. Reported infections from one type of bacteria, Mycobacterium marinum, commonly called "fish handler's disease," have increased from nine in 1998 to 25 last year in Anne Arundel County, the foundation says.
Bernie Voith of Crownsville contracted a life-threatening blood infection four years ago from a different bacteria after swimming by his house on a tributary of the Severn River. Voith, 81, says a scrape on his leg developed into a nasty, open wound, and he spent two weeks in the hospital. He says he hasn't been back in the water at Arden on the Severn since.
