Chemistry and Materials Science Seminar: Twenty Years of Contaminant Monitoring in the Great Lakes: Analysis of Legacy Contaminant Trends and Identification of Emerging Contaminants

Chemistry and Materials Science Seminar
Twenty Years of Contaminant Monitoring in the Great Lakes: Analysis of Legacy Contaminant Trends and Identification of Emerging Contaminants

Dr. Michael Milligan
Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
SUNY Fredonia

Abstract:
As part of our ongoing work with the EPA-sponsored Great Lakes Fish Monitoring and Surveillance Program, we have been analyzing Great Lakes fish tissue samples since 2004 for a suite of legacy and emerging contaminants of concern. Whole fish Lake Trout composites from all five Great Lakes are extracted and analyzed using a wide array of instrumental techniques to identify and quantify analytes such as PCBs, dioxins, organochlorine pesticides, flame retardants, PFOS, mercury, and potential emerging contaminants of concern. This project has been a continuing collaborative effort among investigators from Clarkson University, SUNY Fredonia, and SUNY Oswego. Our primary objectives are to track long-term trends and expand the list of target chemicals that may pose risks to the Great Lakes ecosystem. This seminar will focus on the highlights of our work to date.

Speaker Bio:
Professor Milligan has been a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia, which is primarily an undergraduate institution, for the past 32 years. His educational training is in chemical engineering, but over the years he has transitioned into an analytical/environmental chemist. Milligan’s research laboratory houses three state-of-the-art gas chromatograph/mass spectrometers: a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatograph/time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GCxGC-TOF), a gas chromatograph/triple quad mass spectrometer (GC/MS/MS) and a gas chromatograph/single quad mass spectrometer (GC/MS). Milligan has been working on GC/MS methodologies, maintenance, and data interpretation for close to forty years, while focusing on environmental samples, such as fish tissue, air, sediment, and water. He has taught in the general chemistry sequence for his whole career at Fredonia, and has taught upper level courses in environmental chemistry, industrial chemistry, and advanced chromatographic methods.

Intended Audience:
All are Welcome!

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