Dr. Michelle Lorah is a Research Hydrologist and has been with the U.S. Geological Survey in the Maryland Water Sciences Center since 1985, where she directs the Fate and Bioremediation Team. Her research focuses on contaminant fate, microbial community dynamincs, and developing bioremediation methods for a wide range of organic and inorganic contaminants in groundwater...
My research is focused on determining natural attenuation processes in complex environments, such as wetlands, sediment, and fractured rock, with the goal of enhancing or augmenting these processes to obtain efficient remediation of contaminants. This research includes defining anaerobic and aerobic degradation processes, microbial community dynamics, and controlling environmental factors. Much of my research has focused on chlorinated volatile organic compounds, including chlorinated methanes, ethenes, and benzenes, and development of bioremediation technologies for these widespread groundwater contaminants. I have led the development of an anaerobic dechlorinating consortium (WBC-2) for degradation of chlorinated solvents and of bio-reactive barriers or caps for application in bottom sediment and groundwater discharge areas. Additional research has included study of biodegradation of explosives compounds and perchlorate, natural attenuation of landfill leachate, and fate of nutrients in groundwater/surface-water discharge area.
Science and Products
Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Integrated Science Team
PFAS Transport, Exposure, and Effects
A Field Method to Quantify Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion, Sorption, Abiotic and Biotic Degradation in Low-Permeability Zones
Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian PFAS Capability Team
Contaminant Fate and Transport Capabilities @ MD-DE-DC
Bioremediation in Wetland Areas, Standard Chlorine of Delaware Inc. Superfund Site, Delaware City, Delaware
Science and Products
- Science
Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Integrated Science Team
Increasing scientific and public awareness of the widespread distribution of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in U.S. drinking-water supplies, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, wildlife, and humans has raised many public health and resource management questions that U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) science can inform. The USGS Environmental Health Program's PFAS Integrated Science Team...PFAS Transport, Exposure, and Effects
The team is determining the movement and behavior of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from their sources in the environment, as they move through exposure pathways in ecosystems including watersheds and aquifers, their incorporation into food webs, and molecular to population scale effects on fish and wildlife. These studies are accomplished at a variety of spatial scales from regional...A Field Method to Quantify Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion, Sorption, Abiotic and Biotic Degradation in Low-Permeability Zones
Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program project ER-2533 In chlorinated-solvent-contaminated fractured-sedimentary-rock aquifers, low-permeability (low-K) strata typically act as long-term or secondary sources of contamination to mobile groundwater in the high-permeability fractures. The fate of dissolved trichloroethene (TCE) in the low-K matrix is controlled by abiotic...Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian PFAS Capability Team
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of anthropogenic emerging contaminants. Some PFAS have been voluntarily phased out, as exposure has been linked to adverse human health effects.Contaminant Fate and Transport Capabilities @ MD-DE-DC
The Contaminant Fate and Transport team conducts research on the transport and fate of contaminants in groundwater through the unsaturated and saturated zones using innovative and proven USGS methods. The team's research focuses on the often complex processes that affect contaminant fate and transport, and includes expertise in wetland environments. Performing both field and laboratory studies to...Bioremediation in Wetland Areas, Standard Chlorine of Delaware Inc. Superfund Site, Delaware City, Delaware
Major releases of chlorinated benzenes and benzene are known to have occurred at the Standard Chlorine of Delaware Inc. Superfund Site from 1966-2002, resulting in contamination of the groundwater underlying the site and the wetlands surrounding Red Lion Creek.Although installation of a groundwater interception and treatment system has been completed around the main facility, wetland and sediment... - Data
- Publications
- News