After a November finding that one type of airborne algae toxin was likely inhaled deep into human lungs, FGCU researchers have confirmed another type of toxin in the same concentration in its samples.

The testing came in response to a bloom of cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, that slimed the Caloosahatchee and inland waterways for months. These one-celled organisms can produce cyanotoxins — potent poisons that can sicken wildlife and humans. Scientists can't yet say for certain how far the toxins range from algae-infested waters, though some researchers suspect it can travel at least a mile by air.

The type FGCU initially found in November is the cyanotoxin microcystin, which research has implicated in liver damage and tumor growth.

Now scientists have identified another cyanotoxin from their air samples, BMAA, short for beta-Methylamino-L-alanine, which some researchers think can lead to dire health problems including Lou Gehrig’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

More:Researchers in town testing residents for exposure to algae toxins

But for now the research has raised more questions than answers — answers Parsons and his team are still pursuing.

"It's an ongoing project. We're kind of in new territory right now, and we're just trying to assess the situation," he said. "We're not saying there's a real threat or concern, but we really need to understand what's going on before we can really develop any kind of action plan."

One of the puzzles of the original results for lead scientist Mike Parsons, a professor of marine biology, is that the toxins showed up from sampling devices in two very different places: one, a Cape Coral home on an algae-choked Caloosahatchee canal, the other at Vester Field Station, on a saltwater bay near Bonita Beach.

Yet the level of the toxins was the same in both places. Because little or no such research has been done, understanding that revelation is a challenge, Parsons said, but “our first interpretation was, well maybe there's always this low level background toxin."

Though the initial tests were for microcystin, Parsons was able to get more funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to buy more test kits, for both microcystin and BMAA.

“So when those came in, we then ran BMAA, and that took probably another month or so to get those samples,” which is why the results came in piecemeal, he said.

But once they did, they again showed identical BMAA concentrations in Cape Coral and Bonita Springs.

More:Algae toxins are airborne and can reach deep into human lungs, FGCU research shows

So, to check levels inland, Parsons placed devices at FGCU’s property in rural Buckingham.

“We also got two more air samplers, so there's four of them out at the Buckingham campus,” he said. “The idea is, we're at least a mile, mile and a half from any water body, and so if there was any sign of bacteria around, we feel like we're pretty isolated there, and we're trying to get a real zero value.”

The four devices will run about another two weeks, then be retrieved for analysis. Parsons expects to have the results in late February.

That far away from water, the question becomes: “Can we get a nondetect in terms of the toxin levels (that) are actually zero?”

The levels of microcystin in Parsons’ tests appeared to be low.

“There was one study that was done on mice and one study that was done on sheep, (and) just to get any respiratory irritation, the microcystin levels that we measured — just kind of a back-of-the-envelope calculation — a person would have to breathe about 350 years before they got irritated, but that didn't tell us anything about the liver toxicity."

Such research is the necessary groundwork for future studies that may point more clearly to the human heath consequences of these blooms, which is why at this point, Parsons is loath to draw conclusions.

"I'm not ready to say that we're all killing ourselves or anything like that, but it merits a closer look," Parsons said. "We need to just see, 'OK, is this an issue, is this something we do need to be concerned about?' That's all we're trying to ask ... We just don't know if this is a viable risk or not."

The next step is to try to sort through what it all might mean. On the other side of the state, Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has been testing volunteers’ blood, urine and nasal secretions for cyanotoxins, and Parsons hopes the two can compare notes or possibly collaborate in the future.

“That's definitely the next step: Contact them and just say, ‘Hey look; here's what we got,’ and then maybe we can collaborate and join forces," Parsons said. "Maybe look into pursuing some greater funding sources, for example the National Institutes of Health.”

More:Florida's toxic algae: where has all the wildlife gone?

The lead researcher on Harbor Branch’s project, Adam Schaefer, would like that too, since FGCU’s results are further evidence of the potential for human exposure.

Finding that "they’re getting into the air continues to add to the story, but it requires additional sampling and screening,” Schaefer said. “Hopefully, we can find some synergy in the projects.”

Meanwhile, Fort Myers environmental advocate and registered nurse Holley Rauen cheers the universities’ research. She says it begs a question about the Florida Department of Health, from which she retired seven years ago: Why isn’t it doing this kind of health monitoring? (Since his research began, the department has not contacted him about it, Parsons confirmed.)

"It’s really a shame we need to have (nonprofit) organizations … doing the work that our public health department should be doing," she said. "We would not need citizen scientists and watchdog organizations and nonprofits and environmentalists clamoring to find these things out.”

Though the department didn't test for algae toxins, it did test for hydrogen sulfide, a foul-smelling cyanobacteria byproduct that can be harmful in high doses, spokesman Nick Van Der Linden said.

"Currently, cyanotoxin aerosol testing is performed by a limited number of universities that conduct research in this field," he wrote in an email. "This type of testing is not yet available for use by agencies for routine monitoring."

According to the email, the department sampled Lee County locations Sept. 27 and 28 with only one positive result: a reading of 1 part per million from Palaco Grande Parkway and SE 16th Place in Cape Coral. That's on the low end of levels that might cause irritation of eyes, nose and throat, according to the online journal Occupational Health and Safety.

However, he wrote, "DOH is prepared to conduct further testing should blue green algae persist."

More:Wondering where all that toxic algae vacuumed from Lee County canals went?