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HPU researcher: ‘Genki balls’ did not improve water quality in field tests and may pose local risks
Summary
An HPU environmental scientist told the Kahaluʻu Neighborhood Board that a multi‑year study found Genki balls produced no water‑quality benefit in field trials and showed harmful effects in tank experiments; the research team has shared results with state agencies and offered to help local monitoring.
Carmela Vitsa, an environmental science professor at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, presented research to the Kahaluʻu Neighborhood Board saying her team’s multi‑year study did not find evidence that commercially marketed “Genki balls” improved water quality in field deployments and that concentrated tank tests produced concerning results.
Vitsa said tank experiments recorded dissolved oxygen declines of up to about 50 percent and phosphate increases “20 times” relative to control tanks,…
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