Its official; the green algae that’s all over the coasts of Brittany (http://www.kidsforearthasia.com/?p=53), when in a state of decomposition, releases a toxic gas which is dangerous, and can kill humans.
Ineris (an institute which studies the air quality) confirms that the gas is dangerous to the health in certain concentrations. The gas in question, hydrogen sulfur, is (eek!) deadly if you are exposed to it for several minutes.
On the post I did about this before, I described a horse getting killed by the algae. What I didn’t know was that the rider on the horse also lost consciousness. And in 1989, a jogger was found dead at the same place.
So the algae that has grown because of the nitrates we have seeped into the sea has proven to be deadly to us.
Wonderful.
I’m not too sure what will happen to all the ‘algae picking up’ competitions that I noticed when I was in Brittany.
Another point to take into account is that people may not take it seriously enough because many beaches in Brittany are in large bays, so the algae doesn’t reach the beaches.
Hopefully, with the encouragement of the government, Brittany will take action to end this invasion of the algae.
P.S: If you can read French, and would like a more detailed report of the algae, visit http://www.france-info.com/spip.php?article332215
