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Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have discovered algae with the remarkable ability to detect contaminants in municipal water supplies.
The ORNL researchers created a process that uses a fluorometer to measure the fluorescence signal of algae in a river. By watching the known characteristics of photosystems I and II, which convert light energy into chemical energy, researchers were able to detect changes in the process of photosynthesis when toxins were present.
The scientists found the algae can detect 1 part per million of diuron, which is used in agriculture. The algae detected the toxin by revealing a 17 percent decline in its photosystem II efficiency.


Researchers examined five classes of chemical agents known to be harmful to human health. The waterborne toxins are diuron, atrazine, paraquat, methyl parathion and potassium cyanide.
Researchers also said that advances in optoelectronics and portability make this a powerful technology for monitoring the in situ physiology of aquatic photosynthetic organisms such as green algae and cyanobacteria. The findings were recently published online in the journal Water Environment Research. –Lee Bruno