Grants and Contracts Details
Description
[ This project proposes to examine the correlation between current ecological conditions
and chemical contaminant levels in Big and Little Bayou Creeks in McCracken County, KY near
the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Previous studies (1987-1992) have documented chemical
contamination and correlated this with significant ecological impact in these two streams. Since
then (1997-2007), chemical monitoring has detected a general reduction in several, but not all,
types of pollutant found at this site. This project will assess whether ecological impact is still
occurring at current levels of pollution using the U.S. EPA's Rapid Bioassessment Protocol for
macroinvertebrates and a detailed survey of select aquatic insect species. These data will be
compared to levels of chemical pollution in the two streams to see if a correlation still exists
between pollutant loading of the streams and ecological effects. Additionally, a review of
previous research on this system will be conducted with reanalysis of old data to provide a more
comprehensive overview of important trends in the environmental conditions found there over
the past 20 years. J
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 7/1/10 → 6/30/12 |
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