An Assessment of Contaminant Threats at Acadia National Park

Haines, Terry; Webber, Hannah; Coyle, Jim

'The CAP is a systematic approach for determining if contaminants pose risks to habitats or biota managed by the DOl, including national wildlife refuges and parks. The CAP is divided into two parts, retrospective analysis, and if necessary, field sampling.' From the summary in the report, 'Airborne contaminants dominate the pollutants affecting park resources. Ozone, acid rain, and mercury are well studied within the park. The extent of airborne organochlorines reaching the park is unknown but is not likely to be significant. A sampling scheme should be developed to assess the nature and extent of organochlorine contamination in the park.' 'There are several contaminant sources of smaller scale that should also be addressed with confirmatory sampling. Among them are: * possible heavy metals in sewage effluent in Otter Cove, * cumulative effects of multiple small oil spills on sentinel benthic species, and * PCB contamination of Frenchman Bay as a result of PCB disposal at the Town of Winter Harbor municipal landfill.' 'Sampling efforts to confirm these contaminant threats should be undertaken at the parks discretion. Potential sampling strategies are summarized in Table 27. In addition to confirmatory sampling, baseline assessments should be considered in the more sensitive coastal areas of the park to support natural resource damage assessment activities in the event of an oil spill. Potential sampling strategies for BSA sampling were summarized in Table 21.' 'Several other areas of contaminant concerns were identified that also should be addressed (Table 28). These concerns are more research and monitoring in nature and are not within the scope of CAP sampling and should be pursued through other avenues by the park.' 'In addition, we recommend that the park pursue mapping underground storage tanks and sewage outfalls on MDI.' /STUDY LOCATIONS:/ /MOUNT DESERT ISLAND/SCHOODIC PENINSULA/

An Assessment of Contaminant Threats at Acadia National Park

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