| Summary: | The Arctic contains thousands of contaminated formerly used defense (FUD) sites dating from the Cold War, many of which are significant sources of organic contaminants. Here, we have established a community-based participatory research project in collaboration with the communities of St. Lawrence Island in Alaska to address multiple exposure routes to contaminants, including those originating locally at FUD sites. We collected a sentinel fish species, the ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), from Troutman Lake adjacent to the village of Gambell and both FUD and solid waste disposal sites. We measured the concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphate esters (OPEs), and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in stickleback, and found that BDE-47 and -99, tri(n-butyl) phosphate (TNBP), and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), were the most abundant contaminants. Median concentrations were 204 ng/g lw, 187 ng/g lw, and 156 ng/g lw for ∑PBDEs, ∑OPEs, and ∑PFAS, respectively. These concentrations were higher than those in fish from other lakes and comparable to several high trophic level fish species and marine mammals in Alaska, indicating higher contamination levels in Troutman Lake. Open
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