Mirex Great Lakes

Concentrations of PCBs in fish from each of the Great Lakes currently exceed the GLWQA objectives for the protection of aquatic life. Similarly, concentrations of some substances (e.g., PCBs, Hg, mirex, toxaphene) in Great Lakes fish continue to exceed acceptable guidelines for human consumption. Documented effects in the Great Lakes include reproductive failure, congenital abnormalities and induction of tumours in various aquatic, terrestrial and avian species (23). 

Mirex and its degradation products in herring gull eggs collected from the Great Lakes in 1977... 

Biomagnification of mirex in Great Lakes food chains... 

Modified from Norstrom, R.J., D.J. Hallett, F.l. Onuska, and M.E. Comba. 1980. Mirex and its degradation products in Great Lakes herring gulls. Environ. Sci. Technol. 14 860-866. 

Table 21.8 Biomagnification of Mirex in Great Lakes Food Chains... 

Mirex (dodecachlorooctahydro-l,3,4-metheno-2H-cyclobuta [tv/] pentalene) has been used extensively in pesticidal formulations to control the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), and as a flame retardant in electronic components, plastics, and fabrics. One environmental consequence of mirex was the severe damage recorded to fish and wildlife in nine southeastern states and the Great Lakes, especially Lake Ontario. In 1978, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned all further use of mirex, partly because of the hazards it imposed on nontarget biota. These included ... 

Halfon, E. 1987. Modeling of mirex loadings to the bottom sediments of Lake Ontario within the Niagara River plume. Jour. Great Lakes Res. 13 18-23. 

Insalaco, S.E., J.C. Makarewicz, and J.N. McNamara. 1982. The influence of sex, size, and season on mirex levels within selected tissues of Lake Ontario salmon. Jour. Great Lakes Res. 8 660-665. 

Leatherland, J.F. and R.A. Sonstegard. 1981. Effect of dietary mirex and PCB s on calcium and magnesium metabolism in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri and coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch a comparison with Great Lakes coho salmon. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 69C 345-351. 

Lewis, T.W. and J.C. Makarewicz. 1988. Exchange of mirex between Lake Ontario and its tributaries. Jour. Great Lakes Res. 14 388-393. 

Scrudato, R.J. and A. DelPrete. 1982. Lake Ontario sediment — mirex relationships. Jour. Great Lakes Res. 8 695-699. 

Sergeant, D.B., M. Munawar, P.V. Hodson, D.T. Benine, and S.Y. Huestis. 1993. Mirex in the North American Great Lakes new detections and their confirmation. Jour. Great Lakes Res. 19 145-157. 

Voiland, M.P. Jr., K.L. Gall, DJ. Lisk, and D.B. MacNeill. 1991. Effectiveness of recommended fat-trimming procedures on the reduction of PCB and mirex levels in brown trout (Salmo trutta) from Lake Ontario. Jour. Great Lakes Res. 17 454 160. 

Mirex has been detected in wet precipitation over rural areas at concentrations of less than 1 ng/L (ppt) (EPA 1981b). Rainfall samples collected at several sites in 1985-1986 as part of the Great Lakes Organics Rain Sampling Network contained from >0.2 to <0.5 ng/L (ppt) of mirex. Mirex was not detected consistently at many stations throughout the sampling period therefore, quantitative results for mirex were not presented (Strachan 1990). Air samples taken over southern Ontario in 1988 showed mirex in 5 of 143 samples, at an annual mean concentration of 0.35 pg/sol m (range, 0.1-22 pg/m ) with all of the positive samples detected in polluted environments (Hoff et al. 1992). 

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