A beach vacation could put you and your patients at risk, thanks to feces in the ocean
Several US beaches have been identified as containing unsafe levels of fecal-indicator bacteria on at least one day per year.
Reports conclude that waterways may not be in line with EPA safety regulations, and swimming could pose risks to humans, including GI distress and other diseases.
A dip in the ocean may be among the best ways to cool down in the summer. But sea waters can also be hot spots for fecal contamination.
In a report from Environment America, researchers compared water testing results from more than 3,000 beaches in the United States and found that, on at least one testing day, more than 50% of beaches contained unsafe bacteria levels of fecal indicator bacteria. About 1/9 of beaches contained unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria for at least 25% of testing days.[]
Among the beaches tested, 10 New York beaches ranked the highest for the number of unsafe testing days in 2022. However, different states and localities have different rules for how many days a year they test their water. So, water quality results on testing days do not necessarily equate to overall safety.
The organization based its standards for safe and unsafe levels on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) most protective Beach Action Value (BAV), which is a “conservative, precautionary tool” created by the EPA to help states regulate beach safety. The BAV for used E.coli was 190 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters (cfu/100mL) for freshwater, and the BAV used for Enterococcus was 60 cfu/100mL for marine and freshwater.[]
Related: The 3 most toxic chemicals found in our food and waterStates are not legally required to maintain the EPA’s BAV standards, but those that adopt their own standards must still receive EPA approval for their decision. States can modify criteria to fit the specific needs of a location or adopt other, science-backed criteria that are just as protective as the EPA standards, according to the EPA.[]
Human feces in recreational bodies of water has been linked to norovirus and other diseases and poses higher risks to people than non-human feces sources, according to the EPA. (The Environment America report did not separate for human versus nonhuman fecal pathogens.)[]
What else is in the sea?
Unfortunately, fecal pathogens aren’t the only dangerous stowaways in the sea. The EPA assesses waters for various risks (34 benchmarks) or “impairments,” including contamination pathogens, pesticides, trash, algae, mercury, and others.
If questions come up in the exam room, you can tell patients they can search the safety of nearby waterways by inputting their area or the location they are interested in on this EPA search tool. This provides information on water quality concerning human health, aquatic life, eating fish, and drinking water.
Can salt water disinfect?
In highly concentrated forms, salt water—or saline—can be a disinfectant; this isn’t necessarily the case with the ocean, which is less concentrated and full of those other nasty pathogens.
Ocean risks ebb and flow
The report reveals unsettling information about the safety of our seas. But oceans aren’t all bad, all the time. One silver lining to the findings is how frequently water levels changed from safe to unsafe levels. This reinforces that the composition of ocean waters is constantly changing and fluctuating as the water flows from place to place. (Although this also means it can be hard to predict if we swim on a healthy or toxic water day).
Related: Kash Patel’s Pearl Harbor snorkel raises ethics—and contamination—concerns