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Help identify "river nose" by reporting ear, eye, skin & sinus infections

Do you believe you have an ear, eye, skin or sinus infection related to Columbia river-use?  Please visit CRK's office to take a swab for analysis of bacteria cultures by a professional lab (724 Oak St., Hood River 9am to 3:30pm).  This is a self-test.

You can also help identify cause(s) of river nose by seeking medical attention and reporting your Doctor's diagnosis such as ear, eye,skin & sinus infections, fevers and other ailments to CRK.  You can sign a records release form at your Doctor's office. CRK will soon have an online survey to document river ailments and medical results to assess & improve the health of the Columbia.

 What is River Nose?

For many years, there have been complaints from windsurfers and other recreational users about adverse health effects related to use of the Columbia River.  In 2007, there was a flurry of complaints and news reports related to what became popularly dubbed as "River Nose."  River Nose is the term used to describe what are actually a host of symptoms experienced after River use including:  

• Sinus infection or pain
• chronic runny or stuffy nose,
• coughing
• ear infections,
• eye infections
• skin infections and rashes
• sore throats,
• poor healing of wounds,
• burning, red, and/or itchy eyes,
• Gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain) 

In response to reports of "river nose", Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) conducted a preliminary study among a convenient sample of 65 windsurfers at the Hood River Event Site in 2007.  DHS researchers found that 45% of interviewees reported having runny/stuffy nose, 17% mentioned prolonged healing of wounds, and less than 10% reported an eye or ear infection or gastrointestinal symptoms after their last sailing experience.  Moreover, 37% of respondents said that their symptoms happened more often when they surfed on the Columbia and 55% of interviewees believed that water quality is very likely or somewhat likely associated with the respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms listed in the survey.  This initial study concluded that more in-depth investigations were warranted: "These findings imply that the public concerns are real and infections and injuries are common among windsurfers or kiteboarders (DHS 2007)."  

Identifying the nature and scope of health issues facing River users and identifying the potential cause(s) will likely be a long-term effort.  While the Columbia River faces a number of significant pollution threats and is the focus of a major EPA-led toxics reduction effort, there currently is no data that link River Nose ailments to any specific cause associated with water quality in the Columbia River, whether human caused or naturally occurring.  For detailed information on toxics visit the Columbia River Basin website:http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/ecocomm.nsf/Columbia/Columbia

 

What can you do now?

While the direct cause(s) of reported River Nose symptoms are unknown to date, it is well known that the Columbia River faces of a number of pollution threats, a number of which can be prevented by taking the following precautions:

• Rinse off after river-use and avoid the river with open cuts or wounds
• Swim at least 500 ft upstream of pipes discharging into the river (this is due to a loophole in the Clean Water Act that allows pollutants to exceed state safety standards within a designated "toxic mixing zone" which generally extends about 500 ft in diameter around a discharge pipe) 
• Ensure that your septic and sewer systems are properly maintained
• Pick up after pet-waste near the river
• Protect or restore native riverside vegetation up to 300 horizontal feet perpendicular to the shoreline to help filter pollution from run-off and dissuade congregations of geese.  (It is illegal to cut vegetation 25ft from a stream in Hood River County).
• Keep trash off roads and out of rivers
• Use minimal to no synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in gardens and lawns to avoid run-off into rivers (follow application instructions!)
  
• Use biodegradable house cleaning products and beauty products (there are many chemicals that waste water treatment plants can't remove from our sewage)
  
• Conserve water and energy use to increase river flow and decrease water temperatures favorable to bacteria
  
• Report hazardous waste and illegal dumping (call 911 if you see a suspicious barrel or spill - do not touch!)

Understanding the cause, or multiple causes, of river nose will help all river-users make their own decisions about how best to protect themselves and children from potential ailments.   It is important to understand that the range of symptoms does not affect everyone, and that immunocompromised individuals, the very young and very old are generally considered more susceptible.  Under the U.S. Clean Water Act of 1972, we all have the right to swimmable and fishable waters free from contaminants harmful to our health.  This requires consistent water quality monitoring which for bacteria and toxics has not previously occurred in the Gorge due to a lack of state funding and political will.  As the first study of its kind, Columbia Riverkeeper aims to build a water quality baseline toward understanding the cause(s) of river nose symptoms as well as work toward a fishable and swimmable river for all.  All people have the right to clean, safe, and healthy water.  We encourage people to swim, sail, and surf on the river with appropriate precautions, and hope that this report and our future work will help to inform river users and improve water quality.

 

Studies search for clues to the "River Nose Mystery":

As a result of Oregon DHS's preliminary study, Columbia Riverkeeper and the Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Association wrote a letter to the federal and state agencies responsible for safeguarding the health of our rivers and citizens requesting an investigation into ailments from the Columbia River (CRK's letter to state agencies and a summary of our water quality and windsurfer survey results 06).The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded by working with CRK to plan a water quality scoping study for 2008 to better identify both the extent of the health problems and begin to identify whether those symptoms are potentially related to Columbia River water quality or other factors.  EPA and Columbia Riverkeeper coordinated water quality monitoring efforts in 2008 for toxics and biological pollutants that may be associated with River Nose-related ailments.  Oregon DHS also conducted a longitudinal human health study in 2008 to identify health issues facing windsurfers and kiteboarders using the Columbia River, as compared to non-surfers.  Of the participating 114 surfers and 94 nonsurfers, surfers were found to be 7.2 (720%) times as likely than nonsurfers to report ear or eye infection, 3.9 (390%) times as likely to report respiratory symptoms, and 2.4 (240%) times as likely to report skin symptoms.  The higher incidence reported by surfers as compared to other members of the community who do not use the river, suggest that river-use or water quality may be a significant factor contributing to river nose (Oregon DHS study 2008) .  .  

Columbia Riverkeeper and the Environmental Protection Agency also collaborated to test water quality to provide a baseline of biological and chemical contaminants present in the Columbia Gorge that may be related to river nose symptoms.   This study was composed of two parts: water quality monitoring at 29 recreational sites on the mid-Columbia River between Cascade Locks and Arlington in July, August, and September of 2008, and river-use health surveys conducted by CRK volunteers at four major river-use sites in the Columbia Gorge.  Columbia Riverkeeper and the Environmental Protection Agency collaborated to test water quality to provide a baseline of biological and chemical contaminants present in the Columbia Gorge that may be related to river nose symptoms.  Additional samples were sent to the Institute for Environmental Health for analysis of dominant bacterial flora.  

Results overall indicate that there are biological and chemical contaminants present in the river that may be related to one or more of the symptoms described as "river nose," however, more tests are needed to define levels of concern and their relationships to the health of river users.   A detailed report of 2008 water quality tests is due to be released this fall.

 

What are the next steps toward solving river nose?

While CRK is continuing limited studies in 2009, we are gearing our resources towards a more comprehensive water quality and health study with the EPA and other partners in 2010.  The next steps toward solving the "river nose mystery," should include expanded testing during the recreational season from May to September.  Water quality and air quality monitoring should occur twice a month in conjunction with targeted surveys of river users to help correlate the river-use complaints with seasonal trends of what is present in the river.  Some monitoring may need to occur on a more frequent basis, such as testing for E. coli to determine if state water quality criteria are being violated. The geographic scope should also be expanded to identify trends in the distribution of potential contaminants, and include a reference site at other freshwater high-recreational use areas such as Lake Floras, or Lake Washington.  And lastly, to begin to identify direct links between river nose symptoms and the cause(s), interviews of river-users with symptoms by health professionals and analysis of cultures taken from infections should occur. A study of this magnitude would require funding, and unprecedented cooperation among river users, federal and state health and environmental agencies, citizen groups like Columbia Riverkeeper, Columbia Gorge Windsurfing and Kitesurfing Associations, and University research teams.  If you are interested in participating in this effort either as a scientist in sample design and analysis, collecting samples as a volunteer, or contributing funds please contact Columbia Riverkeeper at crk@gorge.net. 

 

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