Funding Program:  Contaminant Biology

Statement of Problem: Due to land use, recreational activities, and the ultimate destination of wastewater from the City of Las Vegas and surrounding communities, the overall health of Lake Mead has become the focus of numerous scientific investigations.

Objectives: Extracts from passive samplers (SPMDs and POCIS) deployed in Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, NV, will be provided to CERC scientists to determine the potential of sampled chemicals to promote an estrogenic or androgenic response. These responses will be measured using the yeast estrogen screen (YES) and the yeast androgen screen (YAS). A single SPMD and POCIS from each of seven sites will be test by the YES and YAS. In 2007, we joined the collaborative study with USGS- Carson City, USFWS- Las Vegas, and others to determine contaminant levels in Lake Mead fish and sediments.

• Develop and validate methods at CERC for a targeted list (see Appendix) of legacy and emerging chemical contaminants.
• Determine historical record of targeted chemical contaminants in Lake Mead bed sediments.
• Determine concentrations of targeted chemical contaminants in individual male carp sampled from Lake Mead. Determine trophic transfer of targeted chemical contaminants in Lake Mead biota.
• Develop method for measuring flux of selected chemical contaminants from sediments using passive sampling technologies.