Publications

In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Environmental Health Mission Area, initiated the Tapwater Exposure Study as part of an infrastructure project to assess human exposure to potential threats from complex mixtures of contaminants. In the pilot phase (2016), samples were collected from 11 States throughout the United States, and in the second phase (2017), the study focused on the Greater Ch

Discharges from pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities (PMFs) previously have been identified as important sources of pharmaceuticals to the environment. Yet few studies are available to establish the influence of PMFs on the pharmaceutical source contribution to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and waterways at the national scale. Consequently, a national network of 13 WWTPs receiving PMF dis

In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) made a new method available for the analysis of pesticides in filtered water samples: laboratory schedule 2437. Schedule 2437 is an improvement on previous analytical methods because it determines the concentrations of 225 fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and associated degradates in one method at similar or lower co

Aquatic organisms in streams are exposed to pesticide mixtures that vary in composition over time in response to changes in flow conditions, pesticide inputs to the stream, and pesticide fate and degradation within the stream. To characterize mixtures of dissolved-phase pesticides and degradates in Midwestern streams, a synoptic study was conducted at 100 streams during May–August 2013. In weekly

U.S. Geological Survey monitoring programs extensively used two analytical methods, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, to measure pesticides in filtered water samples during 1992–2012. In October 2012, the monitoring programs began using direct aqueous-injection liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry as a new analytical method for pesticides.

The Midwest United States is an intensely agricultural region where pesticides in streams pose risks to aquatic biota, but temporal variability in pesticide concentrations makes characterization of their exposure to organisms challenging. To compensate for the effects of temporal variability, we deployed polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) in 100 small streams across the Midwest fo

The presence of anthropogenic contaminants such as antimicrobials, flame-retardants, and plasticizers in runoff from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids may pose a potential threat to the environment. This study assesses the potential for rainfall-induced runoff of 69 anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs), widely found in household and industrial products, from biosolids amended f

Two new analytical methods have been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) that allow the determination of 37 heat purgeable volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (USGS Method O-4437-16 [NWQL Laboratory Schedule (LS) 4437]) and 49 ambient purgeable VOCs (USGS Method O-4436-16 [NWQL LS 4436]) in unfiltered water. This report documents the procedures and

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for determination of 229 pesticides compounds (113 pesticides and 116 pesticide degradates) in filtered water samples from stream and groundwater sites. The pesticides represent a broad range of chemical classes and were selected based on criteria such as current-use intensity, probability of occurrence in streams and

Final leachates (leachate after storage or treatment processes) from 22 landfills in 12 states were analyzed for 190 pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), which were detected in every sample, with the number of CECs ranging from 1 to 58 (median = 22). In total, 101 different CECs were detected in leachate samples, including 43 prescription pharmaceuticals, 22 industria

The process of obtaining and analyzing water samples from the environment includes a number of steps that can affect the reported result. The equipment used to collect and filter samples, the bottles used for specific subsamples, any added preservatives, sample storage in the field, and shipment to the laboratory have the potential to affect how accurately samples represent the environment from wh

Landfills are commonly the final respository for a heterogeneous mixture of waste from residential, commercial, and industrial sources. The use of landfills as a means of waste disposal will likely increase as the global population increases and nations develop. Thus, landfills receiving such waste have the potential to produce leachate containing numerous organic chemicals including contaminants