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EPA research ship will be open for tours at Burning River Fest

Release Date: 8/10/2005
Contact Information:

CONTACT: Phillippa Cannon, (312) 353-6218

For Immediate Release
No. 05-OPA145

CHICAGO (August 10, 2005) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes Research Vessel Lake Guardian will be open for tours as part of Cleveland's Burning River Fest. On Saturday, Aug. 13, the ship will be docked at the end of 9th St. in North Coast Harbor. Tours will be conducted every 30 minutes beginning at noon. The last tour will start at 5:30 p.m.

The RV Lake Guardian is a floating science lab operated by EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office used by scientists from EPA, universities and other government agencies to conduct monitoring and research in the Great Lakes. EPA scientists twice annually assess the biology and chemistry of all the Great Lakes to help determine their health. The summer portion of that work continues into September of this year. In addition, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency used the ship this summer to study the dead zone in Lake Erie and the potential causes of hazardous algal blooms.

The ship is 180 feet long and has three permanent laboratories on board biology, chemistry and multipurpose laboratories. The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art water, sediment and air sampling equipment.

The Burning River Fest is an annual event highlighting the Cuyahoga River, neighboring waterways and environmental issues.

For more information about EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office go to www.epa.gov/greatlakes.