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At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

The economic impact of acute sunburn.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the economic impact of sunburn in a beachgoing population during the summer. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: Galveston, Tex, beachfront. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 56 sunburned beachgoers. Intervention None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Days of work lost as a result of sunburn in the previous year. RESULTS: Thirty-eight respondents (68%) reported painful sunburn. Sunscreen use did not prevent painful sunburn (23/38 [60%]). Those consuming alcohol at the beach had more severe sunburns than nondrinkers and had a higher frequency of analgesic use after sunburn (69% vs 26%, P =.007). Five men (5/18 [28%]) and 4 women (4/38 [10%]) missed a total of 9 and 8 days of work, respectively, because of sunburn within the prior year. Based on these findings and attendant assumptions, it is estimated that sunburn may account for as many as 92 720 lost workdays by Galveston beachgoers each year. The annual economic impact for lost work and treatment may exceed $10 million. CONCLUSION: Sunburn is a costly and preventable skin injury.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1984

Prevalence and survival of Toxocara canis eggs in the urban environment of Perth, Australia.

Using a technique of proven efficiency no Toxocara canis eggs were recovered from a total of 266 sand samples collected from "dog beaches" and parks in the Perth urban area. This observation emphasises that the major risk to humans is from an environment in which puppies are found. Other observations, made at a heavily contaminated site, showed that the eggs of T. canis disappeared from sandy soil over about 6 months during a period in which it would have been expected that conditions were favourable for egg survival. Other data are also presented indicating that the prevalence of T. canis in adult dogs in Perth is quite low. However, T. canis eggs were recovered in large numbers from the majority of soil samples collected from Perth dog-breeding establishments.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Use of peptide nucleic acid probes for rapid detection and enumeration of viable bacteria in recreational waters and beach sand.

Environmental monitoring and public health risk assessments require methods that are rapid and quantitative with defined sensitivity and specificity thresholds. Although several molecular techniques have been developed to rapidly detect bacteria in complex matrices, the challenge to simultaneously detect and enumerate only viable cells remains a limiting factor to their routine application. This chapter describes the use of peroxidase-labeled peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes to simultaneously detect and count live Staphylococcus aureus, a human pathogen in sea water and beach sand. Mixed bacteria from the environmental sample were immobilized on polyvinylidene difluoride membrane filters and allowed to form microcolonies during a 5-h incubation on Tryptic soy agar plates. PNA probes targeting species-specific regions of the 16S rRNA sequences of S. aureus were then used to hybridize the target bacteria in situ. Probes were detected by capturing chemiluminiscence on instant (e.g., Polaroid) films. Each viable cell (i.e., rRNA producing) is detected as a light spot from its microcolony on the film after scanning the image into a computer. This rapid in situ hybridization technique is simple and highly sensitive and could be developed into portable kits for monitoring pathogens and indicators in the environment.

Bathing Beaches↗
PubMed2005

Use of slow-release fertilizer and biopolymers for stimulating hydrocarbon biodegradation in oil-contaminated beach sediments.

Nutrient concentration and hydrocarbon bioavailability are key factors affecting biodegradation rates of oil in contaminated beach sediments. The effect of a slow-release fertilizer, Osmocote, as well as two biopolymers, chitin and chitosan, on the bioremediation of oil-spiked beach sediments was investigated using an open irrigation system over a 56-day period under laboratory conditions. Osmocote was effective in sustaining a high level of nutrients in leached sediments, as well as elevated levels of microbial activity and rates of hydrocarbon biodegradation. Chitin was more biodegradable than chitosan and gradually released nitrogen into the sediment. The addition of chitin or chitosan to the Osmocote amended sediments enhanced biodegradation rates of the alkanes relative to the presence of Osmocote alone, where chitosan was more effective than chitin due to its greater oil sorption capacity. Furthermore, chitosan significantly enhanced the biodegradation rates of all target polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

Contaminated marine wounds--the risk of acquiring acute bacterial infection from marine recreational beaches.

An animal model was used to determine the potential for causing wound infections of bacteria isolated from marine recreational beaches in Hong Kong. Water samples were characterized physically, chemically and bacteriologically and used to inoculate artificially-induced wounds in rats. Morbidity and mortality correlated significantly (P < 0.01) with MacConkey plate counts and faecal coliform counts (membrane filtration) and inversely with salinity of the water. The majority of deaths were due to infection caused by marine and estuarine bacteria rather then enteric organisms. A total of 318 bacterial strains was isolated from the wounds and blood of animals inoculated with seawater, of which 242 were marine/estuarine (predominantly Vibrio spp., Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas putrefaciens) and 40 were enterobacteria. The virulence of the animal strains were comparable with those from clinical sources.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Relationship between rainfall and beach bacterial concentrations on Santa Monica bay beaches.

Rainfall effects on beach water quality in southern California are large enough that county health departments typically issue warnings for the public to avoid recreational water contact for 3 days following a storm. To enhance the scientific foundation for these preemptive public health warnings, we examined the relationship between rainfall and beach indicator bacteria concentrations using 5 years of fecal coliform data taken daily at 20 sites in southern California. There was a countrywide increase in ocean bacterial concentrations associated with almost all storms larger than 6 mm and with every storm larger than 25 mm. Only for storms less than 2.5 mm was there no observable rainfall effect. Bacterial concentrations remained elevated for 5 days following a storm, although they generally returned to levels below state water quality standards within 3 days. The length of the antecedent dry period had a minimal effect on this relationship, probably reflecting a quickly developed equilibrium between the decay of older fecal material and the introduction of new fecal material to the landscape.

Bathing Beaches↗
PubMed2005

Changes in benthic fish assemblages as a consequence of coastal works in a coastal lagoon: The Mar Menor (Spain, Western Mediterranean).

The benthic fish assemblage of the Mar Menor consisted of 37 species. Dominant species are: Gobius cobitis, Lipophrys pavo and Tripterygion tripteronotus on infralittoral rocks; Pomatoschistus marmoratus, Callionymus pussillus, Callionymus risso and Solea vulgaris on sandy bottoms and Gobius niger, Syngnathus abaster, Hippocampus ramulosus and Symphodus cinereus on Cymodocea nodosa-Caulerpa prolifera mixed beds. From 1985 to 1989 tourist development has led to the creation of new beaches and the installation of artificial rocky structures for retaining sediments. Dredging for the extraction of sand and subsequent pumping altered sediment characteristics causing a real stress leading to the substitution of typical sandy bottoms communities with Cymodocea nodosa by Caulerpa prolifera communities on mud. Soft bottom fish assemblages responded to changes in vegetation cover and substratum characteristics mainly changing the species composition, while artificial hard substrata contain a similar fish community than natural ones, harbouring even richer and more diverse assemblages. This positive effect of breakwaters should not obscure their likely negative effects on hydrodynamics and the subsequent changes of sediment quality and vegetation cover on the breakwaters' area of influence.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The wreckage of the oil tanker 'Erika'--human health risk assessment of beach cleaning, sunbathing and swimming.

In December 1999 the oil tanker 'Erika', carrying approximately 30 tons of heavy fuel oil, wrecked before the coast of Brittany (France), polluting the local beaches and rocks over a distance of some 500 km. Also numerous birds were affected. During the first months of 2000 the coastal area and many birds were cleaned. The health risk for people involved in these cleaning activities and for tourists was evaluated with emphasis on the carcinogenic properties of this oil. The outcome indicates that the risks were limited to people who had been in bare-handed contact with the oil. Firstly they had an increased risk for developing skin irritation and dermatitis, however, these effects are in general reversible. Secondly they had an increased risk for developing skin tumours, but since the dermal contacts with the oil were of relative short duration, this risk is considered to be very limited.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Ideal width of transects for monitoring source-related categories of plastics on beaches.

Although there is a consensus on the necessity of monitoring solid wastes pollution on beaches, the methods applied vary widely. Therefore, creating, testing and recommending a method that not only allows comparisons of places and periods, but also the detection of source signals, will be important to reach the objectives of the source-prevention principle. This will also allow the optimisation of time, resources, and processing of samples and data. A classification of the items found into specific categories was made according to their most probable source/use (fisheries, food packaging, hazardous, sewage/personal hygiene, beach user, general home). This study tested different widths of sampling transects to be used in the detection of plastics contamination on beaches, until all the categories were significantly represented. Each transect had its total width (50m) sub-divided into eight intervals of 0-2.5m; 2.5-5m; 5-10m; 10-15m; 15-20m; 20-30m; 30-40m; and 40-50m. The accumulated number of categories in the 50m (up to 2.5m; up to 5m and so on) was used to determine the minimal width necessary to qualitatively characterize the area regarding plastics contamination. The diversity of the categories was directly related to the area of the sampling transect. These results indicate that a significant increase in the number of categories in the first intervals tend to stabilize from 15-20m onwards.

Bathing Beaches↗
PubMed1998

Colimetry of marine waters off Fortaleza (Ceará State, Brazil) and detection of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains.

Bacteriological analyses of seawater from three main beaches in Fortaleza, Brazil were performed during 1997. Thirty-six samples per beach were collected for a total of 108 samples. For Meireles Beach, 44% of the samples had MPN total coliforms values of at least 1100 or over 2400/100 ml, followed by Formosa and Diários beaches showing lower counts. For fecal coliforms the highest numbers were demonstrated for Formosa, followed by Meireles and Diários beaches in this descending order: 13.0%, 11.1% and 8.3%, respectively. Escherichia coli strains were identified in 76.8% of the 108 samples. Among 295 strains of E. coli, 21 belonged to serogroups O25, O26, O91, O112, O119, O158 and O164. Strains from serogroup O26 were tested using PCR, ELISA and Vero cells to detect Verotoxins VT1 and VT2 and all strains were negative. No LT and ST, as determined by ELISA and suckling mice assays, were detected among the 295 strains. All strains of E. coli were sensitive to ampicillin, cephalothin, gentamicin, tetracycline, sulfametox-trimethoprim, chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin. Although the E. coli strains were not toxigenic, their presence in high numbers could be of public health significance.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Microbiological beach sand quality in Gaza Strip in comparison to seawater quality.

Gaza beach is the only recreational area available for the local inhabitants. It is heavily polluted with treated, partially treated, and untreated sewage from point and nonpoint sources. The majority of the population is below the age of 15 years. This age group is vulnerable to gastrointestinal diseases and usually restricts their activities to beach sand at the swash zone. Five sampling points along the Gaza beach were selected and monitored for 1 year (fortnightly). Microbial sand content was evaluated for fecal coliforms (FC), fecal streptococci (FS), Salmonella, Shigella, and Vibrio. Seawater samples were subjected to similar evaluation. Pseudomonas, yeast, and mold counts were performed for all sand samples as possible sand pollution indicators. Higher fecal indicators (both FC and FS) were obtained in sand than in water in most locations. The frequency of Salmonella and Vibrio isolation was also higher in sand than in water despite the fact that only 10 g of sand were used while 1L of seawater was collected. Statistically significant correlations between FC and streptococci and between Salmonella and Vibrio were found. Similar correlation was also detected between Pseudomonas and Salmonella in sand samples.

Bathing Beaches↗
PubMed2006

Quantitative detection of hepatitis a virus and enteroviruses near the United States-Mexico border and correlation with levels of fecal indicator bacteria.

For decades, untreated sewage flowing northward from Tijuana, Mexico, via the Tijuana River has adversely affected the water quality of the recreational beaches of San Diego, California. We used quantitative reverse transcription-PCR to measure the levels of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and enteroviruses in coastal waters near the United States-Mexico border and compared these levels to those of the conventional fecal indicators, Escherichia coli and enterococci. Over a 2-year period from 2003 to 2005, a total of 20 samples were assayed at two sites during both wet and dry weather: the surfzone at the mouth of the Tijuana River and the surfzone near the pier at Imperial Beach (IB), California (about 2 km north of the mouth of the Tijuana River). HAV and enterovirus were detected in 79 and 93% of the wet-weather samples, respectively. HAV concentrations in these samples ranged from 105 to 30,771 viral particles/liter, and enterovirus levels ranged from 7 to 4,417 viral particles/liter. The concentrations of HAV and enterovirus were below the limit of detection for all dry weather samples collected at IB. Regression analyses showed a significant correlation between the densities of both fecal bacterial indicators and the levels of HAV (R2>0.61, P<0.0001) and enterovirus (R2>0.70, P<0.0001), a finding that supports the use of conventional bacterial indicators to predict the levels of these viruses in recreational marine waters.

Base Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prediction of the bacteriological quality of natural waters in urban environments. Effect of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation].

At the moment of examination, the bacteriological quality of water is not, to a large extent, more than an a posteriori evaluation: the population is advised afterwards that it had been exposed to a sanitary risk. The ideal situation for managing aquatic environments or recreational use would be to be able to predict at any moment their bacteriological quality. An approach would be to develop predictive models to relate the exceedance (number of days during which the bacteriological indicator exceeds the standards) with environmental variables. Studies were carried out at two beaches with different limnological characteristics, a fluvial beach and a lacustrine beach, from the beginning of 1998 to the end of 2000, so that it was possible to obtain information on the impact of very different hydroclimatic situations on microorganisms of sanitary interest (Escherichia coli and cyanobacteria). Three variables, maximum concentration of E. coli, rains and water level, justified 92.6% of the exceedance variance in the multiple regression model at the fluvial beach. Other abiotic variables (temperature, pH, conductivity, transparency and dissolved oxygen) showed collinearity problems or did not make statistically significant contributions to the model. During the El Niño event (gauge heights > 5 m) there were no exceedances after the rains, even with precipitations of 200 mm. Moreover, cyanobacteria density remained low (x = 1.191 +/- 0.703 log10 cian./ml). During the negative pluvial anomalies, although the exceedances of E. coli were not very frequent at both beaches due to the scarce rains, a massive development of cyanobacteria was produced (x = 4.657 +/- 0.578 log10 cian./ml) at the lacustrine beach. At this beach, the mean decay coefficient (K) for E. coli was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that estimated for the fluvial beach (K = -0.682 +/- 0.32 versus K = -0.387 +/- 0.16, respectively), possibly due to the unfavourable environment created by the higher development of photosynthetic organisms. Analizing separately the anomalous period, variables that better explained (98.6%) the exceedances were (in addition to the maximum concentration of E. coli) pH, temperature and days without rains (DWR) before the sampling. The longest exceedances (6 to 8 days) were produced at the end of the negative pluvial anomalies, after prolonged periods (> 30 days) of droughts. Regression models obtained to predict the exceedance of E. coli were simplified using only three abiotic variables (water level, rains and DWR). Although, in this way, the percentage of explanation of the exceedance is lower (78.5%), the information needed for the model is obtained quickly and preventive measures can be carried out immediately while waiting for more information.

Argentina↗
PubMed2005

An analytical model of enterococci inactivation, grazing, and transport in the surf zone of a marine beach.

An analytical model of enterococci (ENT) concentrations in the surf zone of a long sandy beach is constructed considering the physical processes of dilution by rip currents and alongshore littoral drift, and the biological processes of inactivation and mortality by grazing. The solution is used to construct an expression for the length of shoreline adversely impacted by ENT from a point source. Two non-dimensional parameters are developed whose magnitude can be used to ascertain whether dilution, inactivation, or grazing is the dominant sink for ENT in the surf zone. The model is applied to beaches in southern California, USA. Model input parameters related to physical processes and inactivation are compiled from the literature. Laboratory experiments are conducted to determine grazing mortality rates of ENT (6.5 x 10(-6) s(-1)). Results indicate that at the field sites, between 1000 and 5000 m of shoreline are typically impacted by a continuous point source of ENT. Dilution is the primary cause of decline in ENT concentrations within the surf zone, with inactivation secondary and grazing tertiary. Results recommend strategic positioning of point sources and timing of effluent releases to take advantage of high dilution conditions. Our estimates for grazing mortality rates are within the same order of magnitude as some published inactivation rates, thus we cannot rule out the possibility that grazing is an important sink for ENT, especially in low dilution environments like enclosed bays.

Bathing Beaches↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of E. coli in beach water within 1 hour using immunomagnetic separation and ATP bioluminescence.

The contamination of beach waters occurs from the discharge of storm water and sanitary sewer overflows containing faecal material. Additional faecal material derives from discharge of animals and waterfowl. In order to protect public from exposure to faecal-contaminated water, it is required to test enteric indicators in beach water. The problem is that the traditional culture-based methods cannot meet this goal because it takes too long (>24 h), so the results are not available until a day later. A rapid method for testing beach water for Escherichia coli within 1 h has been developed. Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) and ATP bioluminescence were used for selective capture and quantification, respectively. This rapid method was compared to the current method (m-TEC) using beach water samples. The beach samples were prefiltered with a 20 microm pore size filter in order to remove algae, plant debris and large particles. The results showed that the prefiltration step did not trap the bacteria which were present in the original water samples. The prefiltered water was then passed through a 0.45 microm pore size filter for concentration. The deposited bacteria were resuspended and then mixed with superparamagnetic polystyrene beads (diameter of 0.6 microm) that were coated with E. coli antibodies. After IMS, the quantification of the E. coli was done by ATP bioluminescence. The results obtained with IMS-ATP bioluminescence correlated well with the plate count method (Rsq = 0.93). The detection limit of the assay was about 20 CFU/100 mL, which is well below the US EPA limits for recreational water. The entire procedure can be completed in less than 1 hour. The necessary equipment is portable and was tested on-site.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2003

Storm effects on regional beach water quality along the southern California shoreline.

Two regional studies conducted during dry weather demonstrated that the Southern California Bight (SCB) shoreline has good water quality, except near areas that drain land-based runoff. Here, we repeat those regional studies 36 h after a rainstorm to assess the influence of runoff under high flow conditions. Two hundred and fifty-four shoreline sites between Santa Barbara, California and Ensenada, Mexico were sampled using a stratified-random sampling design with four strata: sandy beaches, rocky shoreline, shoreline adjacent to urban runoff outlets that flow intermittently, and shoreline adjacent to outlets that flow year-round. Each site was sampled for total coliforms, fecal coliforms (or E. coli), and enterococci. Sixty percent of the shoreline failed water quality standards after the storm compared to only 6% during dry weather. Failure of water quality standards increased to more than 90% for shoreline areas adjacent to urban runoff outlets. During dry weather, most water quality failures occurred for only one of the three bacterial indicators and concentrations were barely above State of California standards; following the storm, most failures were for multiple indicators and exceeded State of California standards by a large margin. The condition of the shoreline in Mexico and the United States was similar following rainfall, which was not the case during dry weather.

Bathing Beaches↗
PubMed2006

Temporal and spatial variability of fecal indicator bacteria in the surf zone off Huntington Beach, CA.

Fecal indicator bacteria concentrations measured in the surf zone off Huntington Beach, CA from July 1998-December 2001 were analyzed with respect to their spatial patterns along 23 km of beach, and temporal variability on time scales from hourly to fortnightly. The majority of samples had bacterial concentrations less than, or equal to, the minimum detection limit, but a small percentage exceeded the California recreational water standards. Areas where coliform bacteria exceeded standards were more prevalent north of the Santa Ana River, whereas enterococci exceedances covered a broad area both north and south of the river. Higher concentrations of bacteria were associated with spring tides. No temporal correspondence was found between these bacterial events and either the timing of cold water pulses near shore due to internal tides, or the presence of southerly swell in the surface wave field. All three fecal indicator bacteria exhibited a diel cycle, but enterococci rebounded to high nighttime values almost as soon as the sun went down, whereas coliform levels were highest near the nighttime low tide, which was also the lower low tide.

Bacterial Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed2004

Economic and health risk trade-offs of swim closures at a Lake Michigan beach.

This paper presents a framework for analyzing the economic, health, and recreation implications of swim closures related to high fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) levels. The framework utilizes benefit transfer policy analysis to provide a practical procedure for estimating the effectiveness of recreational water quality policies. Evaluation criteria include the rates of intended and unintended management outcomes, whether the chosen protocols generate closures with positive net economic benefits to swimmers, and the number of predicted illnesses the policy is able to prevent. We demonstrate the framework through a case study of a Lake Michigan freshwater beach using existing water quality and visitor data from 1998 to 2001. We find that a typical closure causes a net economic loss among would-be swimmers totaling dollars 1274-37,030/day, depending on the value assumptions used. Unnecessary closures, caused by high indicator variability and a 24-h time delay between when samples are taken and the management decision can be made, occurred on 14 (12%) out of 118 monitored summer days. Days with high FIB levels when the swim area is open are also common but do relatively little economic harm in comparison. Also, even if the closure policy could be implemented daily and perfectly without error, only about 42% of predicted illnesses would be avoided. These conclusions were sensitive to the relative values and risk preferences that swimmers have for recreation access and avoiding health effects, suggesting a need for further study of the impacts of recreational water quality policies on individuals.

Bathing Beaches↗