Listen here to John Fenton

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/gasland-anti-fracking-activist/5271214

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2014/02/bst_20140220_0635.mp3

Just bumping this thread because of the references of the Morwell fires on it.

My latest concern is-

Located near the power station is Hazelwood Pondage.

This is used by the power station and for recreational use.

The pondage has been fenced off and gates locked for about a month.

Due to a bad blue-green algae bloom.

In the past week or so the level has dropped 1-2 metres

Helicopters have been using the water(including the algae bloom)

to bomb the open cut fires.

This turns to steam and floats around with the smoke etc.

Anyone know if this could be a health problem for the locals..........................Richo.

I notice that people on tank water have been strongly advised not to use that water for human consumption

(because the ash has collected on their roofs I guess and consequently then has contaminated the water that has collected in their tanks

...... that is a real worry take care Richo are you wearing a facemsk??

........

Richo I'm just making a guess here, but I suspect the fire would kill the algae, it seems unlikely that it would be something to be concerned about. The smoke you're already getting is a worry though, I was wondering how you were going down there.

I always had an irrational fear of the warmish water at Hazelwood, I used to think it was radioactive or something. Was too scared to go in there.

Cyanobacteria fact sheet below it appears boiling does not kill the bacteria and may in fact magnify it

....... terrible. the mines owners need to pick up the bill and be held to account IMO

http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/blue-green-algae-cyanobacteria-and-water-quality-fact-sheet

Boiling water does not destroy algal toxins and can, in fact, release more toxins as the blue-green algae are killed. Irrigators are usually advised to avoid using contaminated water on edible crops or, if this is not possible, to avoid direct spraying.

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@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

 

Cyanobacteria fact sheet below it appears boiling does not kill the bacteria and may in fact magnify it

 

 

....... terrible. the mines owners need to pick up the bill and be held to account IMO

 

http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/blue-green-algae-cyanobacteria-and-water-quality-fact-sheet

 

 

Boiling water does not destroy algal toxins and can, in fact, release more toxins as the blue-green algae are killed. Irrigators are usually advised to avoid using contaminated water on edible crops or, if this is not possible, to avoid direct spraying.

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On top of that.... owners of other disused mines Safety procedures and systems need to be audited now ....not when the SHTF (technical acronym  S##t hits the fan)

Again, I could be wrong, but boiling it to use is quite different to burning it. Once dropped on a fire it no longer has the conditions to live ie, a pool of water.

What you probably need to know is how quickly does it die (if thats the right word) and would the dead particles of algae pose a health risk.

whenever you boil off a liquid to remove contamination that contamination is removed in the steam.

When the steam condenses then the toxins (to my thinking anyway) would be contained in the surrounding air.

So if the water is boiling on contact I think the contamination is still there but just not contained in the original medium....

Dunno maybe M and M will come along and give us his theory

Interesting anecdote from this site re blue green algae water

.....I did not know that it was normally classified as a chemical weapon.... and it was ths second most potent toxin

known to man.. some exceprts

"Professor Brett Neilan is a top microbiologist, he'll compare a boiled and a non-boiled sample of Michael's billy water under a microscope."

http://health.ninemsn.com.au/whatsgoodforyou/theshow/694031/does-boiling-water-make-it-safe-to-drink

Remember the world's biggest blue green algae outbreak back in November 1991? A 1000-kilometre stretch of the Barwon and Darling Rivers was covered by a deadly bloom. Some blue green algae toxins are 200 times more toxic than cyanide!

And guess what? Not only did Michael have them in his water sample, but the boiling actually released the toxins into the water!

"It's the second most potent toxin known to man. It's actually listed by the World Health Organization as a chemical weapon. So you could have done some danger to yourself Slats," says Professor Neilan.

"In looking at that [under the microscope] I was better off drinking the raw water. We are dispelling a myth here," says Michael.

The good news is that filtering can remove the nasty toxins.

To show Michael, Brett trickled really poisonous blue algae water through some ordinary river sand.

"And you can see at the end of that experiment there was clean water coming through. Which is almost ready to drink," says Professor Neilan.