Cyanobacterial Toxins and Drinking Water Guidelines

The occurrence of toxic cyanobacterial blooms has been reported worldwide and pose a threat to human health through drinking water exposure. The toxins they produced are highly water soluble and can leach into the water body. To eliminate any risk of drinking water exposure, removal of these toxins is essential before the water is consumed. Conventional water treatment techniques such as chlorination, if managed well, can be effectively used to remove some of these toxins, however, saxitoxin and derivatives pose a problem. Little toxicological data are available to evaluate the real threat of these toxins.