Originally published by BGSU on August 24, 2026:
New research by a Bowling Green State University scientist found that harmful algal blooms, the primary issue facing Lake Erie, release toxins into the air that can be inhaled by humans at distances hundreds of miles from the site of a bloom.
James Metcalf, Ph.D., a toxicologist and the Hollingsworth Smith Endowed Chair in Biological Sciences at BGSU, analyzed 21 air samples from southwestern Florida and found that airborne toxins were present at low levels in most of them – despite no large-scale blooms at the sampling locations.
Metcalf, who collaborated with Brain Chemistry Labs in Wyoming and Calusa Waterkeeper in Florida, published the findings in the leading journal Toxins.
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