In September 2005, the Florida Department of Health (FDoH),
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC)
sponsored a meeting entitled, "Florida Public Health Meeting on Harmful Algae and Their Effects". This meeting was attended by
representatives of numerous Florida state agencies, local health units, universities, and private laboratories. The
goal of this meeting was to provide the attendees with updated information related to Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).
At the conclusion of the meeting, attendees were encouraged to comment on what HAB-related issues they perceived to need
the most immediate attention. Several attendees commented on the need to standardize the collection and analysis of
cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) samples in order to allow the exchange of more comparable data between agencies. As a
result of these comments, the Cyanobacteria Sampling and Analysis Standardization Working Group was formed. The
working group was made up of technical representatives from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), FDoH, FWCC,
the Water Management Districts (WMDs), several local county health units, and a private laboratory. This working group, organized
by the FDEP Bureau of Laboratories, began a series of teleconferences in November, 2005. One of the first efforts the group
participated in was a survey. The intent of the survey was to gather information about the workgroup participants and their interests in
cyanobacteria. From the results of the survey, other tasks were initiated that addressed interests in standardizing
field and laboratory methods. One of which was a
holding time study for microcystin samples.
In May 2006, FDEP Deputy Secretary Mike Sole, on behalf of FDEP Secretary Colleen Castille, requested that the FDEP
Bureau of Laboratories draft Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs)
for the collection and analysis of cyanobacteria samples. All entities collecting or processing cyanobacteria samples for a Florida state
agency would then be requested to use these SOPs in order to improve data comparability between agencies this HAB season.
Questions related to these documents should be addressed to
David Whiting, Environmental Administrator, FDEP Bureau of Laboratories (850) 245-8191.
Cyanobacteria Sampling and Analysis Workgroup Survey Results:
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2010 State of Florida