A Basin-Wide Temporal Trend Assessment of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Lake Trout (2005-2015)

Session: Chemical Monitoring and Surveillance in the Great Lakes: Multimedia (1)

Adam Point, Clarkson University, [email protected]
Thomas Holsen, Dept. Civil & Environ. Eng., Clarkson University, [email protected]
Sujan Fernando, Clarkson University, [email protected]
Bernard Crimmins, Clarkson University, [email protected]

Abstract

For nearly two decades, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have received increasingly intense scrutiny as global environmental contaminants. Concerns over ubiquity, persistence, and toxicity of these compounds spurred voluntary industrial phase-outs of the most abundant PFASs. These control measures began with the 3M Company in 2002 followed by a stewardship program between the USEPA and eight leading global producers initiated in 2006 with complete elimination of target compounds scheduled by 2015.  Yet, despite extensive worldwide monitoring, a comprehensive, basin-wide temporal assessment for Laurentian Great Lakes fish is lacking. Therefore, the response of this precious aquatic ecosystem to industrial production cuts remains largely undefined.  To discern whether PFAS concentrations in Great Lakes fish have indeed responded positively to implemented control measures, this work utilizes lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) tissue collected annually for the EPA’s GLFMSP to determine contemporary PFAS trends for each lake across the basin from 2005 to 2015.