In 1990, Congress amended the Great Lakes (GL) Critical Programs Act, also known as the Fed. Water Pollution Control Act, mandating that the EPA and the ATSDR and the GL states submit a research report assessing the harmful human health effects of water pollutants in the GL basin. ATSDR developed the GL Health Effects Research Strategy to identify human populations residing in the GL basin that may be at greater risk of exposure to chemical contaminants, and to help prevent any adverse health effects. This report provides insight into ATSDR efforts to assess the adverse effects of water pollutants in the GL system on the health of people in the GL states.

This report contains a detailed review of the literature on contaminants, exposure, and health effects of those contaminants in the Great Lakes basin. The report is based on a series of papers prepared for the Great Lakes Health Effects Program, and is supplemented by additional data from related studies. After an introduction on health concerns in the basin and an overview of priority contaminants (organochlorines, metals, radionuclides, microbes, and airborne contaminants), further sections of the review cover the following topics: adverse health effects of persistent environmental contaminants in fish and wildlife; biomarkers for exposure and health effects; human exposure to chemical contaminants and their health effects; reproductive and developmental effects; neurotoxicity; immunotoxic effects; cancer incidence in the basin; health effects associated with radionuclides; Great Lakes water quality and effects associated with microbial contaminants; air quality and associated respiratory health effects; and overall conclusions.

More than 100 professionals have contributed to this important book summarizing much of what is known about the issue of chemicals in the Great Lakes environment and the risks these chemicals pose to human health. The book makes significant recommendations for action in policy, communication, education, and research regarding the chemicals and their risks. The views of individuals from government, universities, industries, and public special interest groups in Canada and the United States have been integrated into a comprehensive statement that reflects scenarios that are applicable worldwide.

Overall this report presents a multi-faceted message of interest to environmental health specialists, policy-makers and the 36 million Canadian and U.S. citizens who live in communities surrounding the Great Lakes. Researchers know more about environmental health issues in the region than they ever did. This report summarizes detailed research on a range of priority contaminants including PCBs, lead and mercury.