Beach Germs
Beach germs in the form of the bacteria, which is one of three measured by regulators to determine whether human sewage is present in a water sample, is
linked to tides in a study that points to an odd lunar pattern in ocean contamination.
People worried about exposure to bacteria might want to avoid swimming in the ocean during new or full moons, according to a new study. The study of
60 beaches from Point Zuma to Corona del Mar in Southern California showed that counts of one type of bacteria associated with human sewage rise at
certain times during the lunar cycle.
Although the reason this happens it not clear, and environment engineer who first noted the pattern in Huntington Beach discovered the effect is
wide-spread. Alexandria Boehm, a Stanford University environmental engineer discovered that tides that occur during new or full moons correlate to levels of
bacteria harmful to humans.
Though the effect, which was first noticed in 1999 is well documented, it is considered too small an effect to be used for closing beaches.
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