v>EPA
uses
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Great Lakes
National Program Office
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
EPA-905/8-89-002
GLNPO Report 07-89
August 1989
Green Bay/Fox River
Mass Balance Study
Executive Summary
0
Oconto
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EPA-905/8-89/002 r 1
GLNPO Report No. 07-89
August 1989
GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE STUDY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
November 1988
Prepared for:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Prepared by:
Science Applications International Corporation
8400 Westpark Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102
EPA Contract No. 68-04-5041, WA GL87-23
SAIC Project No. 1-816-07-201-23
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5, Library (PL-12J)
77 West Jackson Boulevard, 12th Fk*
Chicago, JL 60604-3590
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE STUDY 1-1
2. STUDY BACKGROUND AND GOALS 2-1
2.1 THE MASS BALANCE APPROACH 2-1
2.2 VALUE OF THE MASS BALANCE APPROACH FROM A GREAT
LAKES BASIN PERSPECTIVE 2-3
2.3 GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER STUDY AS NEXT STEP IN DEVELOPMENT
OF MASS BALANCE APPROACH 2-5
2.4 STUDY GOALS OF THE GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE
STUDY 2-5
3. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 3-1
3.1 PARTICIPATING AGENCIES 3-1
3.2 MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE 3-1
3.3 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT 3-4
4. STUDY SCOPE AND CONTENT 4-1
4.1 INTRODUCTION TO GREEN BAY AND THE FOX RIVER 4-1
4.2 GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER STUDY SCOPE 4-1
4.3 ANTICIPATED STUDY ACTIVITIES 4-3
4.4 SCHEDULE FOR GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE STUDY 4-3
5. ANTICIPATED STUDY OUTCOME 5-1
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 2-1 SCHEMATIC OF THE GREEN BAY SYSTEM: COMPARTMENTS
AND FLUXES OF CONTAMINANTS 2-2
FIGURE 2-2 ACCUMULATION AND AMPLIFICATION OF ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS
IN AN AQUATIC SYSTEM 2-3
FIGURE 3-1 MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE OF GREEN BAY MASS BALANCE
STUDY 3-3
FIGURE 4-1 GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER STUDY AREA 4-2
FIGURE 4-2 TRIBUTARY AND WATER COLUMN SAMPLING STATIONS FOR GREEN
BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE STUDY 4-4
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 3-1 AGENCIES PARTICIPATING IN THE GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER
MASS BALANCE STUDY 3-2
TABLE 4-1 SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER
MASS BALANCE STUDY 4-5
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1. INTRODUCTION TO THE GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE STUDY
Significant progress has been made on control and reduction of pollution
in the Great Lakes. However, accumulation of toxic substances remains a
serious problem in each of the lakes as well as in many of the 42 areas
designated by the International Joint Commission (IJC) as Areas of Concern.
In 1983, the Water Quality Board reported to the IJC that 900 chemicals and
heavy metals, potentially dangerous to human health and the biota, have been
identified in the Great Lakes.
Concern about potential human health effects of these chemicals has
increased with growing evidence of links between the presence of contaminants
and tumors in fish, genetic defects in fish-eating birds, and reproductive
disorders in biota. Further, possible links have been reported between
developmental disorders in human infants and prenatal exposure to contaminants
through consumption of certain Great Lakes fish by their mothers.
Traditionally, the management of water quality has focused on control of
direct releases of pollutants. Such sources were the easiest to identify,
characterize, and control. The regulatory laws to control sources of pollu-
tants are media-specific, with specific laws dealing separately with air,
water, and land pollution. For these reasons, restoration and maintenance of
water quality were largely tied to control of point sources from which con-
taminants were discharged directly into the nation's waterways.
Recognition that pollutants are also indirectly introduced to aquatic
systems has led to reassessment of the traditional approach to management of
Great Lakes water quality. Great Lakes water quality managers have concluded
that adequate management of contaminants requires that the total contributions
to pollution from all media and all types of sources be quantified, and that a
mass balance approach, which allows for evaluation of the relative
significance of multiple sources, be used for total load management.
Mass balancing has been successfully applied to the regulation of
nutrient loads in the Great Lakes during the past decade; the current concern
over toxic substances in the lakes signals the need for a similar approach to
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regulation of toxic substances. The sources, pathways, and sinks for toxics,
however, are less well understood. It is, therefore, desirable to pilot the
mass balance approach for toxics in a smaller ecosystem prior to expansion to
all the Great Lakes. The Green Bay/Fox River Mass Balance Study has been
designed to serve as such a pilot project.
The purpose of this document is to present the rationale, goals, and
anticipated end products of the study, as agreed to by the Green Bay/Fox River
Mass Balance Study Management Committee, to describe the management structure
of the study, and to outline the study activities.
1-2
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2. STUDY BACKGROUND AND GOALS
2.1 THE MASS BALANCE APPROACH
In a mass balance, the quantities of contaminants entering the system,
minus the quantities stored, transformed, or degraded within the system, must
equal the quantity leaving the system. The basic mass balance equation,
based on the law of the conservation of mass, is presented below:
INPUT + GENERATION - CONSUMPTION - ACCUMULATION = OUTPUT
(enters (produced (transformed (buildup (leaves
through within or degraded within through
system system) within system) system
boundaries) system) boundaries)
As portrayed in Figure 2-1, an ecosystem can be represented as a series
of boxes or compartments (sediments, water, biota, atmosphere, etc.) linked by
arrows representing transfer processes. As a result of their physical/
chemical properties, many toxic organic contaminants tend to accumulate in the
upper levels of the food chain, as illustrated in Figure 2-2. In the Great
Lakes ecosystem, these upper levels include large predatory fish and fish-
eating birds and mammals. In its simplest form, a mass balance equation can
be constructed by measuring the quantities of a contaminant entering the
system, the quantities leaving the system, and the quantities present in the
system (sediment, water, and biota compartments). The resulting equation, if
balanced, provides a quantitative description of the movement of the contami-
nant through the system. If it is not balanced, it indicates that better
understanding of the system dynamics and/or more accurate measurements are
required in order to accurately describe the system dynamics.
The ultimate utility of the mass balance approach as a management tool is
to prioritize and allocate resources for research, remedial actions, and regu-
latory efforts. Its usefulness depends on the ability to predict impacts of
various management actions on one or more target compartments, e.g., contami-
nant levels in fish. Mathematical models that describe the interactions among
compartments are thus an important component of the mass balance approach.
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I
NJ
/.Wet Deposition/ ': >
//"///and'/'/.' X,
'/ / \/r>latili»atir.r>'/ '/
Dry
Deposition
Fish Eaters
Humans Birds
Mammals
Suspended
Sediments
Dissolved
Tributaries
Deyi
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DDT in
Fish-Eating Birds
25ppm
DDT in Large Fish
2ppm
DDT in Small Fish
0.5 ppm
DDT in Zooplankton
0.04 ppm
DDT in water
0.000003 ppm,
or 3ppt
Fiaure 2-2. Accumulation and Amplification of Organic Contaminants in an Aquatic System
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It is also clear that the sophistication of a mass balance approach
depends upon the detail to which compartments are defined, the accuracy with
which contaminant quantities in the compartments are measured, and the
accuracy with which the transfers between compartments are characterized and
measured.
2.2 VALUE OF THE MASS BALANCE APPROACH FROM A GREAT LAKES BASIN PERSPECTIVE
The Great Lakes have historically served as a proving ground for explor-
ing solutions to environmental problems. The Great Lakes are deep and have a
long retention time; in addition they have been exposed to a wide range of
contaminants from industry, agriculture, and municipalities. Consequently,
toxic contamination of fish, bioaccumulation of metals, and eutrophication are
readily exhibited. Since the lakes are so sensitive to contamination, it has
often been incumbent upon the state and federal environmental agencies within
the Great Lakes Basin to develop and test innovative solutions to environ-
mental problems.
For example, in the 1970s, severe eutrophication of the lower Great Lakes
required immediate binational attention. Several nutrient loading reduction
techniques for point and nonpoint sources were developed and implemented,
resulting in immediate and long term improvements in lake water quality. Many
of these technologies were subsequently adopted by other national and regional
agencies to control nutrient problems.
Persistent toxic contaminants in the Great Lakes system are currently a
major concern. Although declines of contaminant concentrations in fish flesh
have been observed since bans were placed on the use of DDT, PCBs, and
dieldrin in the 1970s, the concentrations of these persistent compounds remain
at levels which are of concern with respect to human health. The discovery of
several hundred other potentially toxic compounds in the Great Lakes further
amplifies this concern.
The concept of total load management in the Great Lakes Basin is a funda-
mental element of the Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United
States, of USEPA's Great Lakes National Program Office Five-Year Strategy, and
of the Lake Michigan Toxicant Control Strategy. Great Lakes managers have
recognized that addressing toxic contaminants in the Great Lakes system
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requires a comprehensive multi-media evaluation of point and nonpoint source
loadings to the lakes. This requires going beyond the relatively simple
consideration of point and land-based nonpoint source loadings that was used
to determine phosphorus loading limits to address eutrophication problems in
the 1970s. Current sources of persistent toxics are less likely to be point
sources; rather, what needs to be determined is the extent to which there are
significant reservoirs of persistent toxic substances in less easily measured
media such as air, precipitation, soil, sediments, and groundwater.
The mass balance approach provides a tool with which managers can deter-
mine the relative amounts of persistent toxic substances that the various
sources contribute to the environment, so that they can determine which
environmental control programs should receive greater emphasis. Knowledge
about the relative contributions of the different sources of contaminants and
the relative costs of their removal or control can lead to more cost-effective
approaches for remediation.
There is general agreement among the scientific community that existing
mass balance models are rudimentary and require further development at this
time in order to meet management needs. Great Lakes studies provide
opportunities for testing existing models and developing more sophisticated
models. Equally important, the studies promote the development of the
improved environmental measurement technologies required for a mass balance
approach for toxics.
Last but not least, the mass balance approach provides a valuable frame-
work for the coordination of research activities among the various State and
Federal agencies responsible for the protection and greater understanding of
the environment. It is a framework for the coordination of environmental
research within a given ecosystem by organizations with differing objectives.
The information resulting from such a coordinated study is likely to allow
conclusions to be drawn that could not have been drawn from any single project
by itself.
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2.3 GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER STUDY AS NEXT STEP IN DEVELOPMENT OF MASS BALANCE
APPROACH
The costs associated with analysis for persistent toxicants, together
with the uncertainties as to how best to make the necessary environmental
measurements, discourages initiation of a lakewide total load management
program at this time. There is still much work to be done to develop sampling
designs, models, and analytical capabilities that will allow the data
acquistion required by such a program to be undertaken cost-effectively. The
approach advocated in the Green Bay/Fox River Study is to develop these
capabilities in smaller scale intensive mass balance studies.
Preliminary mass balance studies of river systems for toxics in the Great
Lakes basin have previously been undertaken, in particular, in the Niagara
River, and the Upper Great Lakes Connecting Channels Studies. In such
systems, inputs and outputs were assessed by quantifying the loadings of
target chemicals upriver and downriver of the mass balanced system (i.e., the
river). The Green Bay/Fox River Mass Balance Study represents a step to not
only quantify loadings within a river system but to relate those loadings to
the total loadings to a relatively closed system like a Great Lake but smaller
(i.e., Green Bay).
Key factors in selecting Green Bay for this step include its relatively
closed nature, the wealth of historical and ongoing research projects, the
representative range of contaminants found in the system, and the presumed
dominance of the Fox River in surface water loadings to the system.
2.4 STUDY GOALS OF THE GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE STUDY
The overall goal of the Green Bay/Fox River Study is to test existing
modeling frameworks for toxics, to improve our understanding of the sources,
transport, and fate of toxic compounds, to evaluate the technological
capability to measure multi-media loadings to a system, and ultimately to
guide and support regulatory activity. The study will thus serve as a pilot
for possible future modeling studies of Great Lakes ecosystems.
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3. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF STUDY
3.1 PARTICIPATING AGENCIES
The Green Bay/Fox River Study will engage numerous investigators in
project design and budgeting, field collection, analysis and processing of
data, quality assurance, data management, and modeling activities. It will
require input of expertise and resources from numerous organizations.
Participating agencies are listed in Table 3-1.
3.2 MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
Three levels of management have been created to share responsibility for
the various components of the project. An organizational chart depicting the
management of the Green Bay Mass Balance Study is presented in Figure 3-1.
Coordination of the many diverse activities that are planned and ongoing,
as well as responsibility for obtaining funding commitments and interagency
cooperation, rests ultimately with the Management Committee. This committee
is comprised of decision makers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(USEPA), the States of Wisconsin and Michigan, and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administation (NOAA). A member of the Green Bay Citizen Advisory
Committee has observer status with this committee. USEPA/GLNPO and the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources serve as co-chairs.
As the technical coordinators for the project, USEPA/GLNPO and WDNR co-
chair the Technical Coordination Committee, which coordinates the technical
activities of the Operational Committees, the Quality Assurance Coordinator,
and the Field Coordinator.
Staff from participating agencies form the four Operational Committees.
These are the Field and Technical Operations Committee, the Modeling Commit-
tee, the Field and Analytical Methods Committee, and the Biota Committee.
These committees are comprised of scientists who formulate, review, and
evaluate monitoring plans, as well as provide technical expertise to the
Management Committee. They are responsible for specifying the monitoring and
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TABLE 3-1
AGENCIES PARTICIPATING IN THE GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE STUDY
USEPA - Great Lakes National Program Office
- Grosse lie, MI and Duluth, MN Environmental Research Laboratories
- Region V Water Division
- Region V Waste Management Division
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Wisconsin Sea Grant
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey - Madison
Green Bay Remedial Action Plan Implementation Committee
3-2
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Management Committee
Technical Coordination
Committee
OPERATIONAL COMMITTEES
Field and Technical
Operations Committee
(FTO)
Field and Analytical
Methods Committee
(FAM)
FIGURE 3-1. MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE OF GREEN BAY MASS BALANCE STUDY
3-3
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modeling requirements for the project, for coordinating field operations, and
for providing oversight of the Quality Control (QC) Program.
3.3 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
The Mass Balance Study provides an excellent opportunity for increasing
public awareness and understanding of the Green Bay ecosystem, and for public
input into a project which addresses problems of great concern to the public.
The Management Committee intends to keep the public informed about the
study. Brochures detailing the mass balance approach and the roles and
responsibilities of the study's many participants are being prepared. Public
briefings and news releases are also planned to keep the project visible and
highlight its progress. The ship used to collect and analyze water samples
from Green Bay, the R/V Roger R. Simons will periodically be open to the
public for tours.
A representative from the Green Remedial Action Plan Implementation
Advisory Committee, a group formed to facilitate public participation in
implementation of a Remedial Action Plan for lower Green Bay and the Fox
River, will sit as an observer on the Management Committee of the Mass Balance
Study.
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4. STUDY SCOPE AND CONTENT
4.1 INTRODUCTION TO GREEN BAY AND THE FOX RIVER
Green Bay can be characterized as a long, relatively shallow extension of
northwestern Lake Michigan (Figure 4-1). The Green Bay watershed drains land
surfaces in both Wisconsin and Michigan, and contains about one-third of the
total Lake Michigan drainage basin. The lower Bay and Fox River have been
recognized as a polluted water system, and have been designated by the IJC as
a Great Lakes Area of Concern. The Fox River Valley is heavily industrialized
and contains the largest concentration of pulp and paper industries in the
world.
Presently the Bay ranges from hypereutrophic in the southern portion to
mesotrophic-oligotrophic near the Lake Michigan interface. The extreme
productivity in the southern Basin results in deposition of organic material
and associated hypolimnetic oxygen depletion in the central Bay.
The presence of toxic organic materials in the water, sediment, and biota
has adversely impacted both utilization and management of the Bay's fishery.
The commercial fisheries in the Bay, with the exception of yellow perch, are
closed due to PCB contamination, and consumption advisories have been issued
to sports fishermen. Some fish-eating birds have experienced reproductive
failure and increased deformities apparently related to toxic contamination.
4.2 GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER STUDY SCOPE
For the Green Bay/Fox River Mass Balance Study, models will be applied to
toxicants of interest, including PCBs, dieldrin, cadmium, and lead. The
physical/chemical models will be coupled with a food chain model to allow
estimation of body burdens in target fish species: carp, brown trout, and
walleye. The integrated model will then be used to predict concentrations in
the water, sediment, and biota in response to differing regulatory and
remedial action scenarios. The predictions will include long-term extrapola-
tion from the short-term calibration.
4-1
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Escanaba
River
Little Bay
De Noc
Figure 4-1.
Map of Green Bay and Relation to Lake Michigan and Other Great Lakes
4-2
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4.3 ANTICIPATED STUDY ACTIVITIES
The Technical Coordination Committee, through the operational committees,
has prepared a Study Plan which summarizes the activities required to gather
the data needed to construct and drive the mass balance model. These activi-
ties will address the following data requirements:
Inputs Active pools and interfaces
- Tributaries - Bay water column
- Contaminated sediments - Bay sediments
- Point sources Biota
Atmosphere Modeling
Dumps and storm sewers
- Ground water
Outputs
- Bay-lake exchange
- Sedimentation
- Volatilization
Figure 4-2 identifies sampling stations in the Bay and tributaries, as
currently planned. For further details on specific activities, the reader is
referred to the Green Bay Mass Balance Study Plan.
4.4 SCHEDULE FOR GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER MASS BALANCE STUDY
Generally, study activities are being conducted during a four-year study
period beginning in 1987 and continuing until the end of 1990 with final
reporting in 1991. A summary of the anticipated schedule is shown in Table
4-1.
During the first year of the study (FY 87), a monitoring plan was
developed, along with a quality assurance program to be used in evaluating
analytical and field methods for the project.
During FY '87, field reconnaissance was also done in the Bay and tribu-
taries, and the first atmospheric deposition monitoring stations were estab-
lished in preparation for the main field season. Modeling tasks were scoped
out during this time frame, and assigned to appropriate investigators. Model
development will proceed through the duration of the study.
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M: \i
10 5 (I 10
Escanaba River
Little Ba>
De Noc
iJ
Martin Is Passage
-,£ «3 St Martin Is
Location of bay stations
for water column
sampling
Location of tributary
sampling stations
Figure 4-2. Tributary and Water Column Sampling Stations for
Green Bay/Fox River Mass Balance Study
4-4
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TABLE 4-1. SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE GREEN BAY/FOX RIVER
MASS BALANCE STUDY
FY '87 FY '88 FY '89 FY '90 FY '91
Study Plan
Quality Assurance
Field Reconnaissance
Modeling
Monitoring
Sample Analysis
Interim Reports
Data Evaluation
Final Reports
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X*
X
X
X
X
X
X
*Additional monitoring as required
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Measuring bottom sediments, Bay-lake exchange, atmospheric deposition,
water and suspended sediments, tributary loads, point and nonpoint sources,
groundwater, and biota is a resource-intensive effort that must be accom-
plished within a limited timeframe and yet provide high-quality data for use
in modeling. The main field season for sample collection is August 1988
through September 1989. Once the samples are collected, analysis will be
conducted from August 1988 through June 1990. During this time additional
field work may be identified as the raw data are analyzed.
Reports on the results of the monitoring activities will become available
as the data are analyzed. Final reports of all monitoring results are sched-
uled for September 1991 along with the issuance of a PC-compatible mass
balance model.
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5. ANTICIPATED STUDY OUTCOME
The Green Bay/Fox River Mass Balance Study, as outlined in this document,
will provide baseline information about the relative contributions of sources
of target chemicals to Green Bay. Every major loading of target chemicals to
Green Bay will be identified, and, to the greatest extent possible, will be
quantified, the fate and transport of the target chemicals in the Bay system
will be examined, and the outputs from the Bay will be addressed.
At a minimum, it is expected that the study will provide:
An approximation of the relative contributions of target chemicals
from each source
An information data base collected over the same time period, using
comparable methods, for use by the public, regulators, and scientists
Some improvements in technologies for environmental measurements
needed for a mass balance approach
A first attempt to quantify atmospheric deposition for toxics to a
specified system
An understanding of where research and development funds should be
invested for future mass balance projects.
5-1
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TECHNICAL REPORT DATA
(Please read Instructions on the reverse before completing)
1. REPORT NO
2.
3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION NO.
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
Green Bay/Fox River Mass Balance Study
Executive Summary
5. REPORT DATE
August 1989
6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
5GL
7. AUTHOR(S)
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.
GLNPO NO. 07-89
9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
Science Application International Corporation
800 Westpark Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102
10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
EPA Contract 68-04-5041
SAIC No. 1-816-07-201-23
12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED
Summary 1Q88-199Q
14
..SPONSORING AGENCY. CODE
Great Lakes National Program
Office, US EPA, Region V
15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
Sarah Pavlovic, Project Officer
16. ABSTRACT
Mass balancing of all direct & indirect multiple sources, pathways, and sinks
of toxic contaminants can provide a knowledge base for adequate control and
management of the Great Lakes Basin. The Green Bay/Fox River Mass Balance
Study is a major coordination of environmental research activities among some
elven State and Federal agencies to measure major loads and the fate and move-
ments of PCBs, dieldrin, cadmium, and lead in and out of the Green Bay/Fox
River ecosystem.
In the period between August 1988 and September 1989, measurements of bottom
sediments, Bay-Lake exchange, atmoshperic deposition, tributary loads, biota,
etc., will be made; analysis will be carried out through June 1990, with the
final report scheduled of September 1991.
17.
KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
DESCRIPTORS
b.lDENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS
c. COSATI Field/Group
Mass Balance
Toxics
Green Bay
18. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT
Document is available to the public throuc
the National Technical Information Service
(NTIS) Springfield, Virginia 22151
19. SECURITY CLASS (This Report)
h
21. NO. OF PAGES
26
20. SECURITY CLASS (Tills page)
22. PRICE
EPA Form 2220-1 (R«v. 4-77) PREVIOUS EDITION is OBSOLETE
*U.S. GOVEWMENT PRINTING OFFICE:
1989 645-888/32026
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