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Sea lettuce popping up off Turkey’s west ‘may poison people’
Sea lettuce popping up off Turkey’s west ‘may poison people’
An expert has warned that sea lettuces and green algae that occurred in the sea off the western Turkish province of İzmir may poison passersby if authorities fail to take measures. Click through for the story in photos...
The “algal bloom” was spotted off İzmir’s Karşıyaka district. Municipal workers began removing the algae from the sea on Nov. 5.
Local media had previously reported that the algae and sea lettuces were not harmful to human health, but an expert has warned that there are potential risks.
Speaking to Yeni Asır newspaper on Nov. 9, Ege University Marine Biology Faculty Professor Baha Büyükışık said single cell algae produce a toxin that can poison people who walk on the shore.
“Sea lettuces can be accepted as a warning of the nature. Locals can be poisoned while they are out to get fresh air on the seaside if the pollution of the İzmir Gulf keeps going on,” he said.
Büyükışık added that there were similar incidents recorded in the United States in which people suffered from memory loss after toxic poisoning. “Authorities must stop the flow of residential waste into the gulf,” he warned.
The formation of algae is the natural result of the sea temperature not becoming cold as quickly as the air.
The change in temperature led to an abundance of nutrients on the surface, which feed plant-like organisms, or phytoplankton.
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