The document submitted to the Commission relied heavily on information available from previously published RAPs, which by definition, do not focus on open lake waters. This assessment should include to the extent possible impacts of synergistic or additive combinations. To date, the threat to human health or aquatic life is not well defined and consequently, there is little reason to expect significant support from the public or other sectors for lifestyle changes or modifications to industrial processes that may be necessary to reduce loadings of Critical Pollutants. Limited data are presented detailing the available information related to the Critical Pollutants in the Lake Superior System. The data that are presented document that non-point source pollution and sources of toxic pollutants outside the Lake Superior Basin and outside the Great Lakes Basin will be extremely important in future efforts to reduce the loadings of Critical Pollutants.
Additional work is needed regarding the estimation of total loadings of Critical Pollutants.
Considerable work is already underway pursuant to Article VI of the Agreement, and additional information will be developed pursuant to Annex 15 of the Agreement. The Canada-United States Strategy for the Virtual Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great lakes Basin should be of considerable utility in addressing these topics. The previously noted failure to define the Lake Superior airshed is a concern since sources outside of the Lake Superior Basin may contribute the majority of the loading to Lake Superior. Beyond concentrating on the relative few sources within the Lake Superior Basin, greater effort should be made to confirm the North American and global sources that are contributing to loadings. The necessity of defining the airshed and dealing with far-field sources is obvious.