Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Featured Science Activities
Featured Science Activities
Lean about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight science studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 3740
De facto water reuse: Bioassay suite approach delivers depth and breadth in endocrine active compound detection
Although endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have been detected in wastewater and surface waters worldwide using a variety of in vitro effects-based screening tools, e.g. bioassays, few have examined potential attenuation of environmental contaminants by both natural (sorption, degradation, etc) and anthropogenic (water treatment practices) processes. This study used several bioassays and quanti
Authors
Elizabeth K Medlock Kakaley, Brett R. Blackwell, Mary C. Cardon, Justin M. Conley, Nicola Evans, David J. Feifarek, Edward Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer, L. Earl Jr. Gray, Phillip C. Hartig, Dana W. Kolpin, Marc A. Mills, Laura Rosenblum, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Vickie S. Wilson
Urban stormwater: An overlooked pathway of extensive mixed contaminants to surface and groundwaters in the United States
Increasing global reliance on stormwater control measures to reduce discharge to surface water, increase groundwater recharge, and minimize contaminant delivery to receiving waterbodies necessitates improved understanding of stormwater-contaminant profiles. A multi-agency study of organic and inorganic chemicals in urban stormwater from 50 runoff events at 21 sites across the United States demonst
Authors
Jason R. Masoner, Dana W. Kolpin, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Larry B. Barber, D.S. Burden, William T. Foreman, Kenneth J. Forshay, Edward Furlong, Justin F. Groves, Michelle Hladik, Matthew E. Hopton, Jeanne B. Jaeschke, Steffanie H. Keefe, David Krabbenhoft, Richard Lowrance, Kristin Romanok, David L. Rus, William R. Selbig, Brad Williams, Paul Bradley
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Contaminant Biology, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Reston Biogeochemical Processes in Groundwater Laboratory
Examining the extraction efficiency of petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter in contaminated groundwater plumes
The extraction efficiency of petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) was examined for groundwater samples from an aquifer contaminated with crude oil. Four different types of extraction were used to determine which method is best suited for the analysis of potentially toxic petroleum-derived DOM. The four types were a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with dichloromethane (EPA method 3510C),
Authors
Phoebe Zito, Rana Ghannam, Barbara A. Bekins, David C. Podgorski
Chemical and physical controls on mercury source signatures in stream fish from the northeastern United States
Streams in the northeastern U.S. receive mercury (Hg) in varying proportions from atmospheric deposition and legacy point sources, making it difficult to attribute shifts in fish concentrations directly back to changes in Hg source management. Mercury stable isotope tracers were utilized to relate sources of Hg to co-located fish and bed sediments from 23 streams across a forested to urban-industr
Authors
Sarah E. Janssen, Karen Riva-Murray, John F. DeWild, Jacob M. Ogorek, Michael T. Tate, Peter C. Van Metre, David P. Krabbenhoft, James F. Coles
De facto reuse and disinfection by-products in drinking water systems in the Shenandoah River watershed
De facto reuse is increasingly being studied among the variety of stressors that are relevant to drinking water systems that obtain their source water from surface waters. De facto reuse may influence the levels and types of precursors relevant to formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in surface water systems. DBPs such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) have been associa
Authors
Richard J Weisman, Larry Barber, Jennifer Rapp, Celso M Ferreira
Lithostratigraphic, geophysical, and hydrogeologic observations from a boring drilled to bedrock in glacial sediments near Nantucket Sound in East Falmouth, Massachusetts
In spring 2016, a 310-foot-deep boring (named MA–FSW 750) was drilled by the U.S. Geological Survey near Nantucket Sound in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, to investigate the hydrogeology of the southern coast of western Cape Cod. Few borings that are drilled to bedrock exist in the area, and the study area was selected to fill a gap between comprehensive geologic datasets inland to the north and ma
Authors
Robert B. Hull, Carole D. Johnson, Byron D. Stone, Denis R. LeBlanc, Timothy D. McCobb, Stephanie N. Phillips, Katherine L. Pappas, John W. Lane
Toward sustainable environmental quality: Priority research questions for North America
Anticipating, identifying, and prioritizing strategic needs represent essential activities by research organizations. Decided benefits emerge when these pursuits engage globally important environment and health goals, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, horizon scanning efforts can facilitate identification of specific research needs to address grand challenges
Authors
Anne Fairbrother, Derek Muir, Keith R. Solomon, Gerald T. Ankley, Murray A. Rudd, Alistair B. A. Boxall, William J. Adams, Jennifer N. Apell, Kevin L. Armbrust, Bonnie J. Blalock, Sarah R. Bowman, Linda M. Campbell, George P. Cobb, Kristin A. Connors, David A. Dreier, Marlene S. Evans, Carol J. Henry, Robert A. Hoke, Magali Houde, Stephen J. Klaine, Rebecca D. Klaper, Sigrun A. Kullik, Roman P. Lanno, Charles Meyer, Mary Ann Ottinger, Elias Oziolor, Elijah J. Petersen, Helen C. Poynton, Pamela J. Rice, Gabriela Rodriguez-Fuentes, Alan Samel, Joseph R. Shaw, Jeffery Steevens, Tim A. Verslycke, Doris E. Vidal-Dorsch, Scott M. Weir, Peter Wilson, Bryan W. Brooks
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2016 through September 2017) and statistical summaries of data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in selected streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was led by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in the Clark Fork Basin and emphasize trace elements associated wi
Authors
Tom Cleasby, Michelle I. Hornberger, Terry L. Heinert, Matthew A. Turner
Predictive analysis using chemical-gene interaction networks consistent with observed endocrine activity and mutagenicity of U.S. streams
In a recent U.S. Geological Survey/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study assessing >700 organic compounds in 38 streams, in vitro assays indicated generally low estrogen, androgen, and glucocorticoid receptor activities, but identified 13 surface waters with 17β estradiol equivalent (E2Eq) activities greater than the 1 ng/L level of concern for feminization of male fish. Among the 36 samples
Authors
Jason P. Berninger, David M. DeMarini, Sarah H. Warren, Jane Ellen Simmons, Vickie S. Wilson, Justin M. Conley, Mikayla D. Armstrong, Dana W. Kolpin, Kathryn Kuivila, Timothy J. Reilly, Kristin M. Romanok, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Paul M. Bradley, Luke R. Iwanowicz
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
Cell-Based metabolomics for untargeted screening and prioritization of vertebrate-active stressors in streams across the United States
The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have assessed contaminants in 38 streams across the U.S., using an extensive suite of target-chemical analysis methods along with a variety of biological effects tools. Here we report zebrafish liver (ZFL) cell-culture based NMR metabolomic analysis of these split stream samples. We used this untargeted approach to evaluate th
Authors
Timothy W. Collette, Drew R. Ekman, Huajun Zhen, Ha Nguyen, Paul Bradley, Quincy Teng
Effects of organic ligands and background electrolytes on barite dissolution
Barite dissolution rates and features were investigated under conditions that combine a variety of organic ligands with different background electrolyte solutions. The organic ligands included low molecular weight organic compounds (LMWO) that can be produced by halophilic bacteria and are common in natural environments, as well as synthetic chelators that were previously studied in barite dissolu
Authors
Bingjie Ouyang, Devon Renock, Denise Akob
The presence of antibiotic resistance genes in coastal soil and sediment samples from the eastern seaboard of the USA
Infections from antibiotic resistant microorganisms are considered to be one of the greatest global public health challenges that result in huge annual economic losses. While genes that impart resistance to antibiotics (AbR) existed long before the discovery and use of antibiotics, anthropogenic uses of antibiotics in agriculture, domesticated animals, and humans are known to influence the prevale
Authors
Dale W. Griffin, William Benzel, Shawn C. Fisher, Michael J. Focazio, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Keith A. Loftin, Timothy J. Reilly, Daniel Jones
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Utah Water Science Center