The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $7.2 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to Indiana University. This funding will support long-term monitoring of persistent toxic chemicals, including per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), in the air and precipitation across the Great Lakes.
“We’re proud to partner with Indiana University to better understand how persistent toxic chemicals end up in the Great Lakes,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator and Great Lakes National Program Manager Debra Shore. “We depend on data to make sound, science-based decisions and this project will assist in our efforts to reduce toxic contamination across the Great Lakes.”
The funding will be distributed incrementally over six years, supporting EPA’s Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN). IADN monitors toxic chemicals at urban and rural sites throughout the Great Lakes basin, with sampling stations located in Eagle Harbor and Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan; Sturgeon Point, New York; Chicago; Cleveland; and Point Petre in Ontario.
“I am thrilled that through our cooperative agreement with EPA, Indiana University will play a critical role in monitoring current and emerging chemicals in air and precipitation samples from the Great Lakes region,” said Marta Venier, assistant professor at the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “IADN is a nationally and internationally important long-term monitoring program, and I am proud to have the opportunity to work with the EPA for the next six years to provide data on trends of atmospheric contaminants to the Great Lakes basin.”
Since the 1990s, over a million samples have been collected of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), flame retardants, and other toxic chemicals. These samples help assess trends of toxic chemicals in Great Lakes air, estimate their airborne contribution to the lakes, and identify emerging chemical threats.
In March 2024, EPA announced a request for applications to continue operating IADN. Eligible applicants included nonfederal governmental entities such as state agencies, interstate agencies, federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations, local governments, institutions of higher learning like colleges and universities, as well as non-profit organizations.
Since 2010, EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has funded more than 7,500 restoration and protection projects totaling over $3.7 billion.
