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+--- Thread: Devices may speed beach testing (/showthread.php?tid=46097)
Devices may speed beach testing - davetclown - 05-23-2003
[size 1]Beach testing may be getting a technological tweak this summer, with county health officials exploring hand-held detection devices that would rapidly relay what contaminants are lurking in local waters.
Working in conjunction with Wayne State University, Oakland officials running the county's annual beach monitoring program said the county has been considering a project that could enable researchers to use prototypes of a hand-held device to test the water quality at a few local beaches this summer.
With beach water test results now taking up to three days to obtain, experts say the new devices would speed that time up to a few minutes, or even seconds.
"If it makes sense for us to do that, and the tests prove to be statistically sound, then we'll be glad to take part in something like that," said George Miller, who heads the Oakland County Health Division, which runs the county beach monitoring program each year. "If it proves to be something positive, we'll look at signing on."
Steve Presby, environmental health services administrative assistant for the county, said the experimental monitoring method is currently on hold.
"There's been a comparison study proposed, but that's on hold and we may not do it," he said. "The study proposal would compare how that method works compared to what we're doing now. There's not a defined protocol, so some of these methods need to be field tested to determine if they're as reliable as what we're using now."
Conceptualized for years, researchers involved with the project say the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks accelerated efforts to develop a real-time monitoring system that would not only instantly tell if beach water is polluted with E. coli bacteria, but could also warn if lethal chemicals are entering drinking water intakes.
A news conference held last December in Macomb County furthered the move toward creating the new monitoring system, and included the unveiling of details about a $3.5 million federal government subsidy — worked into the language of a defense bill — to develop the detection system.
Professors and researchers at Wayne State had already been developing the system under a $2.8 million grant from the National Institute of Health. Those professors have emphasized the need for the system not only for security and safety reasons, but to address health concerns.
With the rapid results possible, officials would be able to shut down beaches before more people have a chance to swim in potentially contaminated waters.[/size][size 1]
[/size][b][size 1]While enthusiastic about the idea, the Health Division's Miller emphasized caution on the county's part.
"I don't mind being the beta tester, but (these things) usually take up more time than we can afford," he said. "With limited resources these days, we're being very careful what we're committing to."
As far as applying this technology to the county's beach monitoring cycle each year, officials say it would boost the program's efficiency with rapid results.
More than 100 public and semi-public county beaches are scheduled to be tested this summer. During the June 10 to Aug. 1[/size][b][size 1] [/size][b][size 1]monitoring program last year, a total of 11 county beaches were temporarily closed due to high bacteria levels. Four of those beaches were located in the county's lakes area. In 2001, a total of 20 Oakland County beaches were closed, with 11 of those being in the lakes area. [/size]
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