New measurements of cyanobacterial toxins in natural waters using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.

The presence and levels of the cyanobacterial toxins microcystin-LR, anatoxin-a, and cylindrospermopsin were measured in various Wisconsin waters where algal nuisance or bloom conditions were noted. Out of 74 samples analyzed, 36 had detectable levels of microcystin-LR (49%), and four had detectable levels of anatoxin-a (5%). Cylindrospermopsin, the toxin produced by Cylindrospermopsis (a warm water species that has been moving its range northward, including to Wisconsin), was not detected in the field samples tested.

An algal probe for copper speciation in marine waters: laboratory method development.

Laboratory-based algal assays were developed to explore the bioavailability of copper to the marine alga Thalassiosira weissflogii. A calibration strategy was developed that avoided use of the synthetic ligand ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in the Aquil growth medium, thereby allowing ambient metal speciation. In a comparison of T.

Outdoor air pollution activities at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.

Outdoor air quality testing at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) began in the 1970s with the advent of the federal Clean Air Act. Since then, air quality has emerged as a major environmental issue equal to or more important, from a public health standpoint, than water pollution. Epidemiological studies have shown that health issues are not limited to highly urbanized areas.