The United States government began managing the Pribilof Islands (St. Paul and St. George Islands) following the 1867 Alaska purchase from Russia. Over the years, various federal agencies have managed the islands, including most recently, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service.
The Department of Commerce and NOAA assumed responsibility for the cleanup of debris and contamination, and by 1998, several thousand tons of debris were removed from St. Paul and St. George Islands.
Soil contamination remains a focus; this contamination is primarily associated with diesel oil spilled while filling tanks for heating and electrical generation, and waste oils either stored in barrels or disposed of directly on the ground.
The National Status and Trends Mussel Watch Project was asked to collect samples around St. Paul Island in order to help characterize environmental quality.
During August 2000, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were sampled from four sites, including two on either side of an area known as the Diesel Seep (TPA13), one site in the southeastern part of Village Cove and a reference site in Zapadni Bay.
The full suite of NS&T analytes including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT (and metabolites), tributyltin (and metabolites), and trace elements were quantified.
PAHs, which are associated both with petroleum and the byproducts of combustion, were found to be high near the Diesel Seep but were even more elevated at the Village Cove site. The site at Zapadni Bay was established as a reference site and as anticipated had the lowest levels of PAHs reported.
Other organic contaminants quantified were also uniformly low while trace elements were generally higher at Zapadni Bay than at the other sites.
Click here to see a map of St. Paul Island TPA sites showing the 4 sample Mussel Watch sites of the NS&T study.
Project Partners
NOAA Office of Response and
Restoration
