Abstract
Under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the lower Green Bay and Fox River estuary have been labeled as areas of concern due to the contamination of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from industrialization. These pollutants pose substantial health and environmental hazards for the Green Bay region. The PCBs reported in this region, including Aroclor 1242, are known to trigger carcinogenic responses in animals and mercury targets the central nervous system and vital organs. Furthermore, these compounds are extremely difficult to remove from the environment once introduced. Extensive remedial actions have been implemented including dredging sediments in the Lower Fox River from DePere to Green Bay. The purpose of this study is to assess the concentration and distribution of Aroclor 1242 and total mercury in the Green Bay region sediments and pore waters and to assess the impact of interventions and the natural rates of change previously found.
Highlights
The Green Bay watershed, including the Fox-Wolf River in northeastern Wisconsin, is approximately 16,000 km2 and is dominated by the Fox River accounting for one-third of the entire Lake Michigan (LM) drainage basin (EPA 1989; Yin et al 2016)
This research aims to 1) investigate the concentration levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (Aroclor 1242) and HgT in Green Bay sediments 2) determine the partitioning coefficient to assess the risk for transport of these pollutants, and 3) compare the residual concentrations with those expected from natural decay and removal processes
When comparing the concentrations obtained in this study with historic data for mercury, the pore water concentrations found in the bay appear to be higher than what has been found along the lower Fox River
Summary
The Green Bay watershed, including the Fox-Wolf River in northeastern Wisconsin, is approximately 16,000 km and is dominated by the Fox River accounting for one-third of the entire Lake Michigan (LM) drainage basin (EPA 1989; Yin et al 2016). In 1995 the Lower Fox River sub-basin located between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay had the highest density of paper mills in the world (Hurley et al 1998). This industrial activity involved the use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and total mercury. It was reported that the locations with the highest concentrations of mercury were associated with the discharge of municipal wastewater into the environment (Glass et al 1990a). This is the case for PCBs, municipal waste was monitored source of contamination (EPA 1989)
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