Jan 29: The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) is requesting project proposals under its Great Lakes Air Deposition (GLAD) program. Pre-Proposals are due March 2, 2009. The purpose of the GLAD program is to safeguard the environment and human health from the adverse effects of atmospherically deposited toxic contaminants in the Great Lakes region. This program supports scientific investigation and the development of assessment tools to identifying the magnitude, sources and impacts of toxic contaminant deposition within the region and to facilitate concerted and strategic actions to mitigate such impacts. The funding available for the current year of the GLAD program is at least $600,000. Previously sponsored projects have ranged from $20,000 to $250,000, with a median of $120,000.
Proposals should focus on contaminants of concern for atmospheric deposition in the Great Lakes region and should demonstrate a likelihood that the contaminant(s) being examined are depositing to the region's waterways from the atmosphere in a quantity that may cause adverse impacts to humans or wildlife. Proposals must describe tangible benefits delivered to the Great Lakes states and how projects will assist the state agencies and their partners in taking informed actions toward assessing and reducing the occurrence and impact of atmospheric deposition of toxic substances.
The 2009 RFP identifies priority project areas that are specifically targeted to be addressed in the upcoming year: Impacts of atmospherically deposited toxic pollutants on Great Lakes wildlife; Effects of climate change on toxic deposition and bioaccumulation; Great Lakes Coordinated Science and Monitoring Initiative; Demonstrate the influence of remaining local, continental and controllable sources; Characterize emissions from burning of agricultural plastics; and Flame Retardants.
Access a posted announcement (click here). Access the RFP (click here). Access the GLAD website for additional information (click here).
Showing posts with label GLAD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GLAD. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Presque Isle Bay AOC Air Deposition Study
Jan 15: Presque Isle Bay near Erie, Pennsylvania, is one of 43 locations around the Great Lakes region to have been designated an “Area of Concern” by the International Joint Commission (IJC), indicating that past use and contamination of the bay has led to impairments on the ability to fully use the bay for beneficial purposes. Presque Isle Bay has become the first of these 43 areas to be re-designated as an “Area of Recovery,” indicating that the bay’s management committee has determined that allowing a natural recovery -- rather than an active remediation project -- is the best course for bringing the bay back to full health. Local, state and national officials are therefore working hard to eliminate remaining sources of pollution to the bay and determine how long a wait is needed until the bay will return to health on its own.
Although historical pollution of the bay was largely through industrial discharges directly into the bay’s waters, the great majority of such releases have now been eliminated. However, large amounts of some toxic substances may be entering the bay -- and Lake Erie to which it connects -- by depositing from the atmosphere. If chemicals are entering from the atmosphere at a significant level, it could significantly affect the time it will take for the bay to recover and for pollution levels in the bay’s sediment to decrease.
Among the primary contaminants causing concern in Presque Isle Bay are a group known as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Unlike some persistent chemicals that can be transported across the globe in the atmosphere, PAHs are degraded quickly enough in the atmosphere that most deposition of these chemicals is likely to come from relatively local (within a few hundred miles) sources.
To determine the amount of these chemicals entering the bay, a study has been undertaken by a research team at Gannon University, led by Dr. Michelle Homan and Dr. Weslene Tallmadge, sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission’s Great Lakes Air Deposition (GLAD) Program. The results of the study allowed the research team to make some preliminary assessments of the relative importance of various sources to the PAH concentrations and deposition to the bay. Activities are now underway to collect additional sampling data, which is needed to improve the results of the source identification work.
Access a posted announcement of the project with links to additional information (click here). Access details on the project including a summary report and the complete final report (click here).
Although historical pollution of the bay was largely through industrial discharges directly into the bay’s waters, the great majority of such releases have now been eliminated. However, large amounts of some toxic substances may be entering the bay -- and Lake Erie to which it connects -- by depositing from the atmosphere. If chemicals are entering from the atmosphere at a significant level, it could significantly affect the time it will take for the bay to recover and for pollution levels in the bay’s sediment to decrease.
Among the primary contaminants causing concern in Presque Isle Bay are a group known as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Unlike some persistent chemicals that can be transported across the globe in the atmosphere, PAHs are degraded quickly enough in the atmosphere that most deposition of these chemicals is likely to come from relatively local (within a few hundred miles) sources.
To determine the amount of these chemicals entering the bay, a study has been undertaken by a research team at Gannon University, led by Dr. Michelle Homan and Dr. Weslene Tallmadge, sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission’s Great Lakes Air Deposition (GLAD) Program. The results of the study allowed the research team to make some preliminary assessments of the relative importance of various sources to the PAH concentrations and deposition to the bay. Activities are now underway to collect additional sampling data, which is needed to improve the results of the source identification work.
Access a posted announcement of the project with links to additional information (click here). Access details on the project including a summary report and the complete final report (click here).
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