The NEZ perce tribe will use this funding to build on their existing efforts in the columbia river basin through partnering with the U.S. Geological survey (USGS) to evaluate risk associated with…

The NEZ perce tribe will use this funding to build on their existing efforts in the columbia river basin through partnering with the U.S. Geological survey (USGS) to evaluate risk associated with chemicals and chemical mixtures in the snake river basin using polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) passive samplers and toxicity forecaster (TOXCAST) data approaches, along with traditional water quality benchmarks. This study will use passive samplers and TOXCAST in vitro high-throughput screening data to prioritize chemicals and sites in the snake and clearwater basins based on potential biological risks associated with emerging contaminants and contaminant mixtures.activities:the NEZ perce will deploy POCIS samplers at 50 locations, with an emphasis on the clearwater basin because of its importance to the tribe. Locations will represent a range of land covers, wastewater influences, and catchment sizes to assess spatial trends in chemical occurrence relative to land covers, sources, and pathways. They will evaluate a broad range of chemicals to reflect the diverse land uses in the basin, focusing on chemicals designed to be biologically active or with known or suspected toxicity. Chemicals will include current-use pesticides, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOA/PFOS), wastewater indicators, and at a subset of 25 sites, pharmaceuticals and tire wear chemicals including 6PPD-quinone. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated outputs consist of 357 chemical analyses, multi-media tools such as videos, websites, postcards, and outreach events, presentations, a final report, and a published journal article. This first application of TOXCAST data approaches in the columbia river basin will help the tribe and other stakeholders better understand biological risk and prioritize chemicals, chemical mixtures, and locations of ecological concern. Anticipated outcomes also include increased toxics data availability within the basin, and increased knowledge and awareness in local communities. The intended beneficiaries of this work are the NEZ perce tribes and surrounding columbia river basin communities.