Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances along the St Louis River and in the Duluth, MN area 2019-2021

Metadata Updated: October 13, 2024

Tree swallow nest boxes were deployed at sites proximal to two putative aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) sources in the Duluth, MN area, as well as along the St. Louis River and a reference lake for comparative purposes. The two AFFF sites were the current Duluth Air National Guard Base (ANG) and the Lake Superior College Emergency Response Training Center. Concentrations of between 13 and 40 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), depending on year, were quantified in tree swallow egg, nestling carcasses, and stomach contents. Assessments were made for oxidative stress and ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase biomarker responses in liver tissue, thyroid hormone levels in plasma and thyroid glands, DNA damage in red blood cells, and two measures of immune response (haptoglobin-like activity and immunoglobulin) in plasma of the nestlings. Additionally, other contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, other legacy organochlorine pesticides, and trace elements were assessed at sites with no previous data. Total egg PFAS concentrations at the ANG site and north of there were 30 – 40 times higher than at the reference lake while nestling PFAS concentrations were 10 – 15 times higher than at the reference lake. In contrast, although the St. Louis River sites had slightly elevated egg and nestling PFAS concentrations relative to the reference lake (2 – 5 times higher), although those concentrations were not significantly higher. One PFAS, perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), was proportionately higher, as a proportion of total PFAS, at sites with a known AFFF source compared to the reference lake, but also compared to sites along the St. Louis River with mainly urban and industrial sources of PFAS. The ratio of total carboxylates to total sulfonates also distinguished between PFAS sources. There were few to no differences in biomarker responses among sites, and no association with PFAS exposure.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date August 25, 2024
Metadata Updated Date October 13, 2024

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date August 25, 2024
Metadata Updated Date October 13, 2024
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
@Id http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/a2db2d57e89ed7c70767f614e239de3a
Identifier USGS:6695283ad34e5956a8cbbae9
Data Last Modified 20241010
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id d0a15f2e-dfd0-4faa-af15-08c0c57529b6
Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -92.4397,46.6145,-92.1018,47.1089
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 8003f2efc4e0a38093e95e61e0cec60fe49b38d014f423b2e1143f48532a4bc6
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -92.4397, 46.6145, -92.4397, 47.1089, -92.1018, 47.1089, -92.1018, 46.6145, -92.4397, 46.6145}

Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.