TemporalTemporal ResponsesResponses ofof FishFish TissueTissue MercuryMercury ConcentrationsConcentrations toto LocalLocal AtmosphericAtmospheric MercuryMercury EmissionsEmissions ReductionsReductions fromfrom IncineratorsIncinerators

M.S.M.S. Hutcheson*,Hutcheson*, C.C. M.M. Smith*,Smith*, C.R.C.R. West*,West*, J.J. Rose*,Rose*, A.A. S.S. FriedmannFriedmann*,*, G.G. T.T. Wallace**,Wallace**, D.D. Luce**Luce**

* Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Office of Research and Standards, Boston, MA USA. ** University of Massachusetts Boston Earth, Environmental and Ocean Sciences Department, Boston, MA USA

Presentation to ECOS Annual Meeting, Kennebunkport, ME September 2005 INTRODUCTION

• Study area of high mercury emissions and deposition and fish mercury • New stringent Hg emissions controls on municipal waste incinerators put into effect in 2000 • Have followed fish tissue Hg during this time (pre – and 4 years post-controls)

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 OBJECTIVES

• To document fish mercury concentrations in a high mercury deposition area • To monitor fish mercury concentrations over a period to include imposition of new state-wide, strict Hg emissions controls on municipal and medical waste incinerators

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 StudyStudy AreaArea Downwind

N LEGEND

PUBLIC HEALTH BASED STATE BOUNDARY Lake RISK RANGES FOR MERCURY: Attitash AMESBURY TOWN BOUNDARY Map Extent MERRIMAC BASS PERCH N LAKE OR POND HIGH ( > 1 MG/KG ) DEPOSITIONAL AREA: HAVERHILL MEDIUM ( .5 - 1 MG/KG ) % W EST DOW NW IND W E Lake Pentucket NEW BURY Millvale LOW (< .5 MG/KG ) Lake Saltonstall UPWIND Reservoir

INCINERATOR FAR UPW IND Wind GROVELAND NEW BUR S ê ê Direction Chadwicks Pond 5 0 5 10 15 Miles METHUEN Rock Pond Forest Johnsons GEORGETOW N Lake ê Pond LAWRENCE ê ROWLEY BOXFORD Lake Baldpate Pond ê Stevens Cochichewick DUNSTABLE Long Pond Pond IPSW ICH DRACUT Lowe TOW NSEND PEPPERELL TYNGSBOROUGH Haggets Pond NORTH Pond Ames ANDOVER Pond TOPSFIELD Massapoag LOWELL ANDOVER Pond Pomps Newfield Pond Upwind GROTON Pond TEW KSBURY Hickory Hills MIDDLETON Pond CHELMSFORD WESTFORD LUNENBURG NORTH READING DANVERS SHIRLEY AYER BILLERICA WILMINGTON LYNNFIELD LITTLETON Far Upwind READING LEOMINSTER CARLISLE PEABODY Fort Pond HARVARD BURLINGTON WAKEFIELD LANCASTER BEDFORD WOBURN BOXBOROUGH ACTON Bare Hill CONCORD SAUGUS LYNN Pond STONEHAM Map Created By: RLING DEP GIS Program BOLTON LEXINGTON October 24, 2000 MELROSE

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 PREDICTEDPREDICTED REGIONALLYREGIONALLY ELEVATEDELEVATED ATMOPHERICATMOPHERIC HgHg DEPOSITIONDEPOSITION

Annual Wet & Dry Hg Deposition, All US Sources, ug/m2

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 Source: Northeast States/Eastern Canadian Provinces, 1998 DATEDDATED SEDIMENTSEDIMENT CORECORE MERCURYMERCURY CONCENTRATIONCONCENTRATION PROFILESPROFILES Echo and Cochichewick Lake Mercury in Sediment

2020

2000

1980

1960

1940

Year 1920

1900

1880

1860

1840 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Mercury (ng/g dry weight)

Echo Lake Lake Cochichewick Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 Echo Lake: Wallace and Luce, unpublished data MERCURYMERCURY FLUXESFLUXES INTOINTO SEDIMENTSSEDIMENTS OFOF LAKELAKE COCHICHEWICKCOCHICHEWICK OVEROVER THETHE LASTLAST 120120 YEARS.YEARS.

Flux Flux Rate Changes 100 2.00

90

80 1.60 /y) 70 2 /y) 2 60 1.20

50

40 0.80 Hg Flux (µg/m 30 Change in Hg Flux (ug/m 20 0.40

10

0 0.00 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

1867 1876 1885 1896 1906 1916 1924 1933 1943 1952 1961 1969 1976 1985 1994 1999 Estimated Date Year

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 Fish Mercury Sampling • SPECIES: - largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

- yellow perch (Perca flavescens)

• Northeast Fish study -26 lakes sampled in 1999, some resampled in 2004 • Long-term monitoring: 12 lakes in NE and rest of state. Half sampled every other year started in 2001. • STATISTICALLY –BASED DESIGN: – Individual fish analyzed; – 30 YP and 12 LMB per lake; – Detection capability for differences in means about 30-40% at alpha of 0.05; – Raw data size-standardized before analysis (339 mm LMB; 243 mm YP).

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 Northeast Massachusetts Other A Areas of the State 2.50 Downwind Upwind Far 2.25 Upwind Hg in Standard-sized LMB 2.00 Hg in the Mean YP 1.75

1.50

1.25

1.00

0.75

0.50

Mercury in mg/kg 0.25

0.00 Fort Pond Bog Pond L. Attitash Rock Pond Long Pond Massapoag Lowe Pond Gales Pond Ames Pond Forest Lake Elders Pond Laurel Lake Center Pond L. Pentucket Pomps Pond Ashley Lake Wampanoag Prospect Hill Middle Pond L. Saltonstall Millvale Res. Yokum Pond Watson Pond Stevens Pond Hilchey Pond Haggets Pond Little quitticas Somerset Res. Ashfield Pond West Meadow Crooked pond Baldpate Pond Sheomut Pond Bare Hill Pond Newfield Pond Johnsons Pond Plainfield Pond North Watuppa Chadwick Pond Upper Naukeag Buckley Dunton Upper Reservoir L. Cochichewick Hickory Hills Pond Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 Fitchburg Reservoir NENE MAMA LAKELAKE MEANMEAN HGHG CONC.CONC. VSVS RESTREST OFOF STATESTATE MA VERSUS OTHER AREAS: LMB AND YP MUSCLE MERCURY CONCENTRATIONS 2.2

2.0 +/- 1 std dev Std. sized 1.8 All fish min./max. 1.6 LMB mean 1.4 YP mean

1.2 All fish Std. sized All fish MD ponds CT lakes 1.0 Std. sized Size Michigan & Adirondacks, NW Ontario considered Wisconsin NY All fish Urban Rural 0.8

0.6 YP

tissue mercury concentration (mg/kg) 0.4

0.2

0.0 This Study Pinckney Hanken et al., 1998 Grieb et al., Bodaly et al., 1993 Rose et al.et al., 1997 Park & Curtis 1990 Simonin et 1999 1997 al., 1994 Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 MERCURY SOURCE EMISSIONS

LateLate 1990s:1990s:

••11 largelarge medicalmedical wastewaste incineratorincinerator (MWI)(MWI) ••SeveralSeveral smallersmaller MWIMWI ••SewageSewage sludgesludge incineratorincinerator,, utilitiesutilities ••33 municipalmunicipal solidsolid wastewaste combustorscombustors(MSWC).(MSWC). BurnedBurned NE 6 ~~1x101x106 metricmetric tons/yrtons/yr MA MSWC 55%

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 Estimated MA Statewide and High Dep. Area Total Mercury Emissions

AREA Baseline 2002- Estimated (kg/year) 2003 reduction (kg/year)

MA 3,900 1155 70% High 1864 245 87% Dep. Area Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 INCINERATORINCINERATOR MERCURYMERCURY EMISSIONSEMISSIONS • 1998 – Regulations • 2000 – Controls in Place

Statewide Massachusetts Hg Emissions Pre and Post 2745 2000 MSWC Controls

500 Mid 1990s 400 327 2003 300 259

200 136 100 77 77 73 4.5 0 Mercury E mi ss ions, kg/yr MSWC Coal Util. MWI SSI

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 Lake Cochichewick Annual Mean YP Hg and Total State Mercury Emissions (tons/yr) 0.50 3000 0.45 0.40 0.35 ?? 2000 0.30 0.25 0.20 1000

Size-Adjusted Hg 0.15 Concentration, mg/kg 0.10 0.05 0 1999 2001 2003

2000 2002 2004 Mean MSWC & MWI Annual Emissions, tons/yr Mean±SD YEAR

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 YELLOW PERCH TEMPORAL TRENDS IN TISSUE Hg (means ±1 std. dev.) NE MA Rest of State

1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004

Baldpate Pond Chadwicks Pond Cochichewick Bare Hill Pond Massapoag Dunstable North Watuppa Pond 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004

Haggetts Pond JohnsonsPond Kenoza Lake Onota Lake Upper Reservoir Wampanoag 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5

Size-Adjusted Mercury Concentrations, mg/kg 0.0 0.0 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 Si ze-Adjusted Tissue Mercury Concentrations, mg/kg 1999 2001 2003 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004

Lake Attitash Lowe Pond Rock Pond Wequaquet YEAR YEAR

Percentage Change from Highest to Lowest 0

-10

-20

-30

% Change -40

-50 Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 NE MA REST Area LMB TEMPORAL TRENDS IN TISSUE Hg (means ±1 std. dev.) NE MA Rest of State

1.6 1.6 1.2 0.8 1.2 0.4 0.0 0.8 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 0.4 Baldpate Pond Chadwicks Pond Lake Cochichewick 1.6 0.0 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1.2 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 0.8 0.4 Bare Hill Pond Massapoag Dunstable Onota Lake 0.0 1.6 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 1.2 Haggetts Pond Johnsons Pond Kenoza Lake 1.6 0.8 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.4 Size-Adjusted Mercury Concentration, mg/kg Size-Adjusted Mercury Concentrations, mg/kg 0.0 0.0 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 1999 2001 2003 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004 2000 2002 2004

Lake Attitash Lowe Pond Lake Wampanoag Wequaquet Lake YEAR YEAR

Percentage Change from Highest to Lowest 0

-10

-20

-30 % Change -40

Hutcheson MA DEP -50 ECOS September 2005 NE MA REST Area CONCLUSIONS • Regional fish tissue mercury reflected high historical regional inputs and deposition; • Since local emissions have by ~87%, have seen average of ~30-37% in fish tissue Hg concentrations; • Over same time period, a limited # of lakes with a later baseline in the rest of state has by ~ 23-28%. • Timing of decreases: limited after 24 months; more in both species after 36 and consistent by 48 months after controls in place.

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 OVERALL CONCLUSIONS

• much progress; • FISH: *quicker response in fish than expected; * more work to do, as fish still too high; • EMISSIONS: * in-state current emissions predominated by sources that get mercury from products; * waste incineration still significant - need stronger national controls especially on utilities * TMDL estimates indicate ~ 90%* reduction in inputs will likely be needed to restore waterbodies; • MONITORING: continued monitoring as indicators of success and to support TMDL proposal.

* Preliminary calculation

Hutcheson MA DEP ECOS September 2005 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

• Field collections performed by Normandeau Associates • Mercury analyses performed by Wall Experiment Station of the MA DEP under the direction of Dr. O. Pancorbo •Statistical advice: Dr. James Heltshe, University of Rhode Island