Jordan Ward, Renee (2022) Formerly used defense sites on islands in the Bering Sea: hotspots of contamination and health risks to local communities and wildlife. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.
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Jordan_Ward_2022_formerly_used_defense_sites_on_islands_bering_sea_hot.pdf - Published Version Download (5MB) |
Abstract
The Arctic is an important indicator region for assessing properties and effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The Arctic is subject to atmospheric deposition of globally distilled POPs, acting as a hemispheric sink for POPs that are transported from lower latitudes. Additionally, the Arctic contains thousands of contaminated formerly used defense (FUD) sites dating from World War II and the Cold War, many of which are co-located with rural communities and remain significant sources of POPs. The Arctic is therefore a repository of persistent chemicals that are readily transported through the atmosphere or that are released from FUD sites. Once POPs enter the Arctic, low temperatures and low intensity sunlight slow their deterioration, which makes them available for long-term incorporation into biological systems, especially in lipid-rich arctic food webs. As a result, concentrations of some POPs, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in the blood of people in certain arctic regions continue to be higher than in general populations of North America and Europe. The Arctic is the home of many Indigenous peoples who rely on a traditional subsistence diet that includes a high proportion of lipid-rich foods such as fish and marine mammals; thus, they may be chronically exposed to dangerous levels of POPs. Because POPs are often endocrine disruptors, carcinogenic, and/or neurotoxic, exposures present important public health concerns for Arctic Indigenous Peoples. My dissertation research focused on health risks posed by FUD sites on Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island) and Unalaska Island, Alaska. These islands were used extensively by the U.S. military during WWII and the Cold War, and FUD sites on the islands may contribute to health disparities reported by residents, including high incidence of cancers, thyroid diseases, and reproductive disorders. My dissertation research on Sivuqaq followed a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and utilized sentinel fishes living near two FUD sites to examine contaminant concentrations and health effects at multiple levels of biological organization. My results demonstrate that FUD site contamination continues to pose a health risk to local wildlife and Sivuqaq residents despite large-scale remediation efforts. I found that PCB and Hg concentrations in a subsistence fish collected near the Northeast Cape FUD site exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory guidelines for safe consumption of fish. I found differential expression of genes related to ribosomal and metabolic functions in sentinel fish collected near Sivuqaq FUD sites. At the Gambell FUD site, I demonstrated that ninespine stickleback exposed to FUD site contamination exhibit suppressed gonadal maturation and two distinct liver phenotypes, indicating that some fish may be more resistant to POP toxicity. On Unalaska Island, I modelled distributions of contaminants to identify hotspots of contamination at FUD sites remediated by the Army Corps of Engineers. I found that contaminant concentrations remain above state cleanup thresholds at more than half of Unalaska FUD sites and that the City of Unalaska is a pollution hotspot. Collectively, the results of my dissertation research demonstrate that Alaskan FUD sites continue to serve as point sources of pollution and potentiate the risk of disease for local wildlife and rural communities living near these sites.
Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
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Publisher’s Statement: | © Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
Keywords: | Alaska; Arctic Indigenous People; FUD site; Military contamination; Persistent organic pollutants; Stickleback; PCBs; Mercury |
Subjects: | Q Science > QP Physiology |
MeSH Subjects: | D Chemicals and Drugs > D10 Lipids |
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status: | Student |
Department/Unit: | Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences > Biological Sciences |
Date Deposited: | 16 May 2023 22:41 |
Last Modified: | 25 May 2023 08:30 |
URI: | https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5889 |
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