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Air Toxics in the Great Lakes Region What's New | Overview | General Resources | Databases | Publications | Related Resources 
What's New Flame retardant chemicals show up in air around Great Lakes region Michigan Radio (12/13) Researchers at Indiana University have discovered two new kinds of flame retardant chemicals showing up in the air around the Great Lakes. These chemicals are added to polyurethane foam to help keep furniture and baby products from catching on fire. EDITORIAL: Assault on the EPA comes at a bad time Star Tribune (10/24) Twenty-five states, largely led by GOP governors, have petitioned a federal court to block the Environmental Protection Agency's plan for limits on mercury and other air contaminants. Report: Mercury levels mostly down in Great Lakes Duluth News Tribune (10/12) Concentrations of mercury exceed the risk threshold for people and wildlife at many spots across the Great Lakes region, and are particularly high in inland waterways, said a report issued by the Great Lakes Commission, an agency that represents the eight states and two Canadian provinces surrounding the lakes. Mercury contamination in Great Lakes wildlife more widespread than thought Detroit Free Press (10/11) Despite decades of cuts in mercury emissions which have led to a 20% decline in the presence of the contaminant, levels in some species have begun going up again in the last 10 years in the Great Lakes region, scientists said in a new report issued today. Report: Mercury levels mostly down in Great Lakes but contamination still a problem The Detroit News (10/11) Efforts to curb mercury contamination in the waters of the Great Lakes region have produced mixed results in recent decades. In some areas of the lakes, according to a new report, mercury remains a problem. And in fish and bird species in certain areas, mercury contamination levels have increased in recent years. Dog poop fouls Great Lakes air Great Lakes Echo (8/29) Researchers from the University of Colorado-Boulder analyzed 108 summer and winter air samples from four Great Lakes cities and found that winter air in Cleveland and Detroit had large amounts of bacteria most likely from dog feces.
Overview Atmospheric Deposition of Toxic Contaminants As water moves through the hydrological cycle, it falls as rain or snow and then evaporates to the atmosphere from the land and surface water. Other substances, including toxic pollutants, follow this same path. They evaporate to the atmosphere, where wind currents can carry these substances for long distances before depositing them. Atmospheric deposition is a significant source of certain toxic pollutants entering the Great Lakes. In fact, as much as 90 percent of some toxic loadings to the Great Lakes are believed to be the result of airborne deposition. Because the transport an d deposition of airborne toxics is not localized, this phenomenon needs to be evaluated and regulated on a regional or even international scale. Various efforts to understand and curtail atmospheric deposition are underway. These efforts include emissions inventories, modeling and mass balance studies that inform new laws and policies. Such efforts will help us to understand and combat atmospheric deposition of pollution on the Great Lakes.
General Resources Air Toxics Links State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators; Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials These national associations represent air pollution control agencies in the 54 states and territories and over 150 major metropolitan areas across the United States. This page links to a range of resources on air toxics. Clean Air for Life Environmental Defense Relief from air pollution is within reach with the right tools. Learn about health effects, pollution solutions and more. Great Waters Program United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Because of mounting evidence that air pollution significantly affects water quality, Congress included section 112(m) in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, known as the "Great Waters" program. The Great Waters program directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to prevent harm from atmospheric deposition. How good is the air in your community? U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 5 Includes real-time air pollution data, maps of ozone designation areas and places with ozone action days; how proposed new air quality standards may affect your county, and more. Top Stories U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 5 Each week U.S. EPA Region 5 Air and Radiation Division posts "Top Stories" in Air Pollution Control in the Great lakes Region.
Databases 1999 Inventory of Toxic Air Emissions Great Lakes Commission The 1999 inventory, the fourth regional inventory, is an ongoing initiative of the air regulatory agencies in the eight Great Lakes states and province of Ontario. Great Lakes Regional Air Toxic Emissions Inventory Great Lakes Commission The Great Lakes states are creating this regional database, which will establish a baseline using 1993 data on point and area source emissions of 49 toxic air pollutants identified as significant contributors to the contamination of the Great Lakes. National Pollutant Release Inventory Environment Canada The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) provides information on the on-site releases to air, water and land, as well as transfers off-site in wastes, of 178 substances. Southwest Lake Michigan Pilot Study Great Lakes Commission Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, working together through the Great Lakes Commission, have completed the first multistate inventory of emissions of toxic air contaminants that are identified as being potentially harmful to the Great Lakes ecosystem or human health. Toxic Release Inventory Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) The TRI is a database that contains specific toxic chemical releases, transfers, waste management and pollution prevention activities from manufacturing facilities throughout the United States.
Publications Atmospheric Deposition of Toxics to the Great Lakes (PDF) The Delta Institute Provides a macro perspective regarding the most recent research on deposition of air toxics and offers policy recommendations to address the problem. Controlling Toxic Air Pollution in Michigan (PDF) Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Toxics Unit This brochure answers some of the most commonly asked questions about "toxic" air pollution and describes what MDEQ is doing to improve and maintain our air quality. Deposition of Air Pollutants to the Great Waters, June 2000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Great Waters Program Provides updated scientific information on the effects of air pollutants on the Great Waters (Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, and Chesapeake Bay, and certain other coastal waters). Illinois Atmosphere Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) The atmosphere above Illinois is not only the source of the air we breathe and the water that sustains us but is also a vast chemical laboratory in which polluting "acid rain" and ozone are manufactured and protective ozone in upper layers is chemically dismantled. From The Changing Illinois Environment: Critical Trends, 1994.
Related Resources GLIN: Agencies and Organizations, Air Quality GLIN: Air Quality in the Great Lakes Region GLIN: Atmospheric Deposition in the Great Lakes Region GLIN: Ozone Issues in the Great Lakes Region GLIN: Toxic Contamination in the Great Lakes Region
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