HOW CAN WE STOP TOXIC CONTAMINATION OF THE GREAT LAKES BASIN ECOSYSTEM?
Canada and the United States created the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1978 and a Protocol revising the Agreement in 1987, to control toxic substances. The Agreement requires the two countries to develop and implement programs to eliminate sources of persistent toxic substances, to remediate contaminated areas, and to complete research that will help both countries to prevent further introduction of all toxic chemicals into the ecosystem. While it is estimated that over 1,000 chemicals are in the Great Lakes ecosystem, scientists have identified 362 toxic substances in quantifiable amounts in the lakes themselves. The effects of exposure on wildlife have been studied and documented in laboratory and field studies since the 1960s. Fourteen species, including lake trout, cormorants, terns, bald eagles, mink and snapping turtles, have suffered reproductive problems and their populations have declined. Both Canada and the United States have banned or restricted some dangerous chem
