Toxic Substances Hydrology

USGS scientist standing near the high resolution mass spectrometer at the UlS. Geological Survey Eastern Ecological Science Center. The instrument will be used for analyses of PFAS in plasma and tissue samples. Any display of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

High resolution mass spectrometer at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center.   Any display of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

USGS scientists Gregory D'Agostino and Katherine Wares collecting soil and worms at a site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, that was contaminated by PFAS from fire-fighting foam.  

Invertebrate being collected at a site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, that was contaminated by PFAS from fire-fighting foam used at the site. 

Scientist istalling a swallow nest box near Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod Massachusetts as part of a study on the fate and effects of PFAS chemicals. 

U.S. Geological Survey scientists holding a Colorado pikeminnow during a sampling trip in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

USGS scientists Jason Sorenson and Andrea Tokranov (out of the image) collecting lake-bottom sediments from Ashumet Pond on Cape Cod, Massachusetts for use in laboratory experiments on the fate of PFAS at groundwater/surface-water boundaries.  The sediments are collected by pushing a tube into the lake bottom and transferring the sediment and pore water into glass jars

Nippon mercury analyzer for sediments and fish.

MC-ICP-MS used for mercury stable isotope analyses.

Graduate student, Grace Armstrong, performing mercury uptake studies in plankton at Mercury Research Laboratory, Middleton, Wisconsin.

Microscopic appearance of normal and melanistic skin in fish from Chesapeake Bay watershed.