SA Premier says algal bloom is not 'toxic', despite word appearing in official government advice

ABC NEWS (Australia)

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has rejected the use of the word 'toxic' to describe the state's algal bloom. This has led to concerns of mixed messaging.

Transcript

00:00Masses of fish and other sea life have died since the algal bloom began circulating in

00:07South Australian waters earlier this year.

00:10But does that mean we should be calling it toxic?

00:14The state's premier Peter Malinowskis insists that term isn't accurate.

00:18He says he's not trying to play semantics or downplay the severity of the bloom, but

00:22rather allay fears it's not safe to go to the beach.

00:26I just think we've got to be a little bit careful about how we approach this because

00:30we want people to follow the public health advice, we want people to be aware of any

00:35risks where they exist, but let's not scare 1.7 million South Australians from visiting

00:40the beach this summer when there's no need to do that.

00:42It's the kind of messaging coastal businesses want to hear as they head into an uncertain

00:47summer, but according to one scientist it's not accurate.

00:52The species mix that we've got at the moment is toxic and the reason it's toxic is that

00:56it has brevatoxins within them.

00:59And so because brevatoxins are toxic to humans, we class the mix of species that we've got

01:06blooming at the moment as being toxic.

01:09They are also of course toxic to fish.

01:11Faith Coleman says humans would have to consume vast amounts of seawater for the brevatoxins

01:16to have any major impact, but she says it's important public messaging is accurate to

01:21create trust in the community.

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