Book Release on
March 21, 2008

Contact: Dr. H. Kenneth Hudnell, 919-932-7229,

(Dickinson, ND) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nine other government organizations, and experts from around the world participated in the development of a monograph entitled, Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms: State of the Science and Research Needs. The monograph is being released March 21 by Springer Press, Inc., in the series, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Vol. 619, Hudnell, H. Kenneth (Ed.) 2008, XXIV, 960 p. 80 illus., 17 in color. Hardcover, ISBN: 978-0-387-75864-0.

Evidence indicates that cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms are increasing in spatial and temporal extent. Blooms regularly occur in many drinking water and recreational water reservoirs. Cyanotoxins can pose a risk to human health and ecosystem sustainability. EPA’s Office of Water has included several does cyanotoxins on the Chemical Contaminant list to assess the risk of cyanotoxins or support the development of materials for management of bloom issues. The reauthorization and expansion of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act in December, 2004, mandated that a group of Federal agencies provide information on cyanobacteria to Congress. The monograph is to help inform those responding to the mandates of the Act and the general public concerning cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms.

The Monograph chapters are based on platform presentations, workgroup discussions, and poster presentations from the Interagency, International Symposium on Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms (ISOC-HAB) that was held in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Co-sponsoring organizations were NOAA, ACE, USGS, FDA, NIH, CDC, NIEHS, and UNC-IMS. For more information about the monograph, ISOC-HAB, and free chapter downloads, visit the Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/cyano_habs_symposium/.

To purchase the book from Springer Press, visit the Web site at: http://www.springer.com/biomed/neuroscience/book/978-0-387-75864-0