Brittany’s regional health agency (ARS) announced Thursday the tripling of hydrogen sulfide sensors on beaches, whose fumes from rotting green algae can be deadly. Stephane Maliez, director general of ARS Bretagne, recalled at a press conference “the duty of information and transparency that we owe to our fellow citizens regarding the effects of hydrogen sulphide and the effects of green algae on our coasts”. conference near Wren.
Hydrogen sulfide levels can be found on the Air Breizh website
Thus, from Friday, the sensors will go from 4 to 12 in the different bays of the Côte d’Armor and Finisterre, which have been affected by this phenomenon. The top public health council has given “a very clear benchmark for hydrogen sulphide levels”, namely 1 ppm in air. These sensors will record rates every quarter of an hour, which can be found on the Air Breeze website, which is approved by the government. If the threshold is exceeded, the protocol, in particular, provides for information to local authorities and the population, a greater collection of seaweed on the affected coasts and beaches and strengthens the ban on entering the area.
In their natural state in the sea, green algae began to multiply more than 40 years ago on some Breton beaches, where they feed on nitrates spread on fields by farmers and whose excesses are carried by coastal rivers. Asked about the importance of their presence ahead of the start of the summer season, sub-prefect Etienne Guillet, the region’s “Mr. Green Algae”, assessed that 2022 was in danger of “being in some pretty strong years”. As for the vessel designed specifically to harvest green algae, Etienne Guillet said the vessel could be launched “at the end of July or beginning of August” and would operate in the Bay of Saint-Brio and/or La Bay. Fresne. Finally, as part of the Plan to Combat the Proliferation of Green Algae (PLAV), extended from 2022 to 2027, the water agency will mobilize ten million euros in aid over three years under territorial agreements. Contracted rates with green algae berry farmers could increase from 10% to 40% within three years, the Brittany prefecture said.
Source: Le Figaro
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