Illnesses may be linked to lake
State looks into NW Ohio reports
Associated Press
TOLEDO
Ohio health officials are investigating whether nine people who reported suffering from stomachaches, rashes and numbness were sickened by toxic water from the state’s largest inland lake.
One man, whose dog died after a swim in the lake, was hospitalized last week after he gave the dog a bath. Within days, the 43-year-old man began having trouble walking and lost feeling in his arms and feet.
“We weren’t swimming in the lake because it’s disgusting,” said Laura Jenkins, whose husband, Dan, is still having trouble with memory loss and fatigue. “Our dog was just covered in that sludge, and my husband washed him.”
Thick patches of green and turquoise slime with toxins that health officials say can cause rashes, vomiting or even liver and nerve damage have been floating on Grand Lake St. Marys in western Ohio since the beginning of summer.
The state says the recreational lake is no longer safe for swimmers or boaters or for fishing. Residents say they’ve seen hundreds of dead fish washed up on the shores. The city of Celina, with about 10,000 residents, gets its drinking from the lake, but the state says the water is treated to remove the toxins and is monitored regularly.
Friday, Gov. Ted Strickland announced a series of steps to combat the algae outbreak, starting with a test project in September to see if a chemical can slow the algae’s growth.
The state also wants farmers to reduce the amount of manure that makes its way into the water and feeds the algae. Proposals include preventing farmers from putting manure on fields during the winter and requiring large farms to have plans for getting rid of their manure.
The lake, midway between Toledo and Dayton, is one of the state’s most polluted waters because of fertilizer and manure that runs off from the nearby farms and flows into creeks and streams that empty into the lake.
“This crisis has been generations in the making, and it will take all of us working together to try to restore this lake to health and prosperity,” Strickland said.
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