Milligan Research Group: Major Research Projects

Lake Ontario Atmospheric Deposition Study (LOADS). This project is a collaborative effort between our colleagues at Clarkson University and SUNY Oswego, and our group here at Fredonia. The main objective of this continuing work is to measure ambient concentrations of a suite of PBTs - such as Hg, PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, and dioxins/furans - in the Lake Ontario region. By performing meteorological and mass balance modeling techniques to our final data, we hope to estimate the geographical sources and total loadings of these PBTs to Lake Ontario. Part of the motivation for this work is the current hypothesis that the majority of toxic organic chemicals accumulating in the Great Lakes are now derived from atmospheric deposition. We have established a permanent field sampling site on the shore of Lake Ontario in Sterling, NY, located about 20 miles west of Oswego, where we have deployed six instruments designed to collect the chemical species listed above. In addition, we have completed three 10-day sampling cruises on the EPA Research Vessel Lake Guardian, to measure over-lake concentrations of these same species on a series of Lake Ontario transects. Our group at Fredonia is primarily responsible for the extraction, clean-up, and GC/MS analysis of air sampling media for chlorinated dioxins and furans (PCDD/F).

Impact of In- and Out-of State Power Plants on Semivolatile Pollutants in New York State. This is another collaborative project with our colleagues at Clarkson University, and has been supported by the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA). This project commenced in the summer of 2000, and has continued until the present. The focus of this work is to measure the atmospheric concentration of a variety of combustion-related pollutants from two rural field sites in New York State: one located in Potsdam, NY, and the other in Stockton, NY, and to determine the geographical sources of these pollutants through atmospheric modeling. The ultimate goal is to discern the effect that the emissions from New York State fossil fueled power plants have on air quality in New York versus the effects from sources outside of the state, such as the Midwest and Canada.