UNITED STATES PCB EMISSIONS INVENTORY

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STORET Summary Data

STORET (short for STOrage and RETrieval) is a repository for water quality, biological, and physical data that is used by state environmental agencies, EPA and other federal agencies, universities, private citizens, and many others [STORET, 2001]. http://www.epa.gov/STORET/index.html

STORET has two searchable databases: LEGACY and modernized STORET. Post 1999 data is on the modernized database and access is not always available to all users. The site may need to be checked regularly or users should seek assistance through the available STORET helpline and email [1-800-424-9067 or email at STORET@epa.gov ]. Locations of stations and a description of those stations are readily available, but PCB specific data was not retrieved in the modernized STORET database search. A LEGACY search for pre-1999 data did yield some PCB data for only a portion of the Great Lakes (see table).

Queries of the LEGACY portion of the STORET database, which contains historical water quality data dating back to 1901, yielded results for specific counties and sites within each of the eight Great Lakes states, from January 1, 1990 through December 31, 1999. Only the Illinois, Lake Michigan query yielded PCB data from the LEGACY queries. While it can't be concluded that PCBs are absent from surface water in the other four Great Lakes, it does indicate limitations in the number of stations and parameters sampled for. To enhance the amount of Great Lakes water quality data, the USGS on-line database was accessed. The USGS database provided information for water bodies within the eight Great Lakes states during the period from January 1, 1990 through March 3, 2002. However, there were some technical difficulties during several attempts to access the site and only partial information was obtained. A summary of the information from the STORET and USGS databases is provided below.