Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant supports Great Lakes and Lake Champlain region PFAS research

Posted March 16th, 2023 in Featured, Funded Research, Funding, Healthy Waters, News, Water Resource Economics
collage of PFAS sources like waterproof makeup, drinking water, fire extinguishing foam, and food packaging

Chances are good that you’ve heard the term “PFAS” in the news, including that they are “forever chemicals” found at airports and military sites but also in everyday household items like pots and pans, makeup and drinking water. While scientists know that PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have very strong bonds that allow them to persist in nature, and exist in hundreds of different forms, there is still much to learn.

In 2022, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) was awarded a grant from the National Sea Grant Office to help explore this issue. Specifically, IISG plans to support a Great Lakes and Lake Champlain regional research competition focused on social and economic issues related to PFAS risk, exposure and remediation. But first, the project team sought to review the status of PFAS research knowledge and needs in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain region. The team hosted three scoping sessions in March 2023, focused on PFAS risk and exposure, PFAS mitigation and remediation, and PFAS governance and prevention.

The image is divided with a vertical blue line. The left side has the heading "Agenda" and text beneath listing the agenda items. The right side has the heading "Speakers" and has five faces in circles, with text underneath each one, and one face in the top right corner in a rectangle.

Project Coordinator Aman Kohli reviews the agenda and introduces the speakers during the first session.

More than 60 participants from federal, state, provincial, tribal, consulting and academic institutions joined over the course of the three sessions. Presentations and discussions centered around three main questions: 

  1. Which communities are at risk, and what are their sources and routes of exposure?
  2. What are the socioeconomic barriers to the adoption and implementation of some of the current/proposed solutions, and what are their alternatives?
  3. What information is needed to ensure all who live, work and recreate in the Great Lakes region are treated in a just and equitable way with respect to governance and prevention of PFAS contamination and exposure?

Participants shared many thoughts and ideas beyond those that will be incorporated into a Great Lakes and Lake Champlain regional request for research proposals (RFP) to be issued in May 2023. The project team—which includes IISG Director Tomas Höök, IISG Research Coordinator Carolyn Foley, IISG Pollution Prevention Specialist Sarah Zack and Project Coordinator Aman Kohli—plans to issue a publicly available workshop report in spring 2023 that includes ideas shared, research and information needs, and other concepts for further exploring PFAS in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain region.

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A word cloud with many different colored words. Larger words were found more often in the data used to generate the cloud.

A word cloud generated during an exercise in the second PFAS scoping session.

 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

 

Contact: Carolyn Foley, Sarah Zack

IISG Instagram

Deadline extended! The IISG program, in cooperation with the @nationalparkservice at @indianadunesnps and @UrbanRivers in Chicago, is offering two internship opportunities to support conservation policy efforts. Sea Grant’s national Community Engaged Internship (CEI) program aims to broaden participation in coastal, ocean, Great Lakes, and marine sciences providing training and mentorship to the next generation of scientists, decision-makers, and citizens.

The program will do so by recruiting, retaining and engaging students in place-based research, extension, education, and/or communication that respects and integrates local ways of knowing.

Applications due April 21.

Learn more at the link in bio.

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Deadline extended! The IISG program, in cooperation with the @nationalparkservice at @indianadunesnps and @UrbanRivers in Chicago, is offering two internship opportunities to support conservation policy efforts. Sea Grant’s national Community Engaged Internship (CEI) program aims to broaden participation in coastal, ocean, Great Lakes, and marine sciences providing training and mentorship to the next generation of scientists, decision-makers, and citizens. The program will do so by recruiting, retaining and engaging students in place-based research, extension, education, and/or communication that respects and integrates local ways of knowing.Applications due April 21.Learn more at the link in bio.

Join us this Thursday for a seminar on the latest fish biology, ecology, and fisheries science happening in Lake Michigan.

Speaker will include:
-Anna Hill (Purdue) with an update on alewife diet and growth rates in Lake Michigan
-Charlie Roswell (INHS) with an update on Lake Michigan and Calumet River smallmouth bass movement
-Dan Makauska (IL DNR) with an update from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Learn more and register at the link in bio.

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Join us this Thursday for a seminar on the latest fish biology, ecology, and fisheries science happening in Lake Michigan. Speaker will include: -Anna Hill (Purdue) with an update on alewife diet and growth rates in Lake Michigan-Charlie Roswell (INHS) with an update on Lake Michigan and Calumet River smallmouth bass movement-Dan Makauska (IL DNR) with an update from the Illinois Department of Natural ResourcesLearn more and register at the link in bio.

Calling all heroes! IISG, @iBioIllinois, and @UrbanaParkDistrict are joining forces to protect the realm from harmful invasive species - will you be brave enough to join us? Attendees will learn about managing and preventing the spread of invasive species through fun and interactive roleplaying activities designed by UIUC researchers and students.

When: April 12, 1-5pm
Where: Anita Purves Nature Center in Urbana, IL

Open to all ages-cosplay encouraged!

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Calling all heroes! IISG, @iBioIllinois, and @UrbanaParkDistrict are joining forces to protect the realm from harmful invasive species - will you be brave enough to join us? Attendees will learn about managing and preventing the spread of invasive species through fun and interactive roleplaying activities designed by UIUC researchers and students.When: April 12, 1-5pmWhere: Anita Purves Nature Center in Urbana, ILOpen to all ages-cosplay encouraged!
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