The conference "Honestly about Lake Balaton", held on 12 June and organised by the HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute (HUN-REN BLRI), was centred around pollutants that significantly disrupt the physiological processes of aquatic organisms and potentially threaten the entire aquatic ecosystem. The discussion also covered what interventions should be made to stop these adverse processes and the resulting damage to living systems.
Lake Balaton has been, and continues to be, subject to a broad range of human impacts that threaten its living systems, thereby potentially endangering future management of the lake. In this context, leading experts analysed how and in what quantities anthropogenic (micro-)pollutants ‒ such as pharmaceutical residues, contraceptive hormone derivatives, UV-filtering compounds, pesticides, and microplastics ‒ enter surface waters, particularly Lake Balaton. As mentioned at the conference, our current knowledge suggests that there is no immediate threat to human health, but trends are concerning.
In his introduction, Zsolt Pirger, Deputy Director of Basic Research at HUN-REN BLRI and leader of the Ecophysiological and Environmental Toxicological Research Group, recalled that until recently, there was no data on the extent to which anthropogenic pollutants disrupt the physiological processes of the lake's aquatic invertebrates. Therefore, a large-scale analytical laboratory was built in Tihany, partly funded by grants. The team was set up in 2014 and has been operating as the Ecophysiological and Environmental Toxicological Research Group since 2021.
Following presentations on the latest research results on the subject, Gábor Molnár, Director of the Lake Balaton Development Council (LBDC) concluded the conference by emphasising that their primary goal is to maintain dialogue among various stakeholders to facilitate the timely identification of issues, development of proposed solutions, and coordinated implementation of measures.
