Legacy and Emerging Contaminants in Young-of-Year Fish from New York’s Great Lakes Basin

Session: Poster Session

Kristen Dieterle, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [email protected]
Wayne Richter, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [email protected]
Eric Paul, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, [email protected]

Abstract

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, collected young-of-year (YOY) fish for contaminant analysis from 55 new and historical locations within New York’s Great Lakes Basin. This project is an extension of long-term monitoring efforts conducted by NYSDEC, with collections occurring every 5 – 10 years, that have proven the value of YOY fish as monitors for local sources of chemical residues. We collected YOY minnows in fall 2018 from Dunkirk on Lake Erie to Massena on the St. Lawrence River, including all 5 of New York’s active Areas of Concern. The 385 samples (7 composites from each site) will provide an update on concentrations of legacy contaminants polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and mercury; the first update for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs); and first time NYSDEC YOY information on the contaminants of emerging concern, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). In addition, we will perform an initial screening of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), chlorinated paraffins (CPs), and select pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), from 10 locations. We will describe the sampling scheme and rationale, along with standards for evaluation and preliminary analytical results.