Contaminants Active
Contaminants can be chemical or biological and represent major stressors to ecosystems, including human and wildlife populations. Chemical contaminants include those purposefully released into the environment (for example, pesticides) and those that are inadvertently released (for example, mining waste). Biological contaminants can harm our food, water or environment with microorganisms (for example, fungus, bacteria, virus). USGS scientists are helping to understand potential environmental and health hazards posed by chemical and biological contaminants. We study the connections between air, water, soil, and living things to identify the environmental pathways that expose humans and wildlife to contaminants.
Environmental Health Program
Contaminants and Pathogens
Emerging Contaminants
Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
USGS Contaminants Science
Scientists Examined Native Pollinator Exposure Risk to Neonicotinoids in Native Prairie Strips
Occurrence of Avian Influenza Virus in Groundwater—Study Provides Baseline Data and Informs Future Studies
Sources of Contaminants to Congaree National Park—USGS and National Park Service Working Together
USGS Scientists Receive Award for Pioneering Work on White-Nose Syndrome in Bats
Environmental Stressors and Wildlife Health
Low Levels of Contaminants Found in Great Lakes Tree Swallow Nestlings
Assessing Impacts to Ecosystems from Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon Region
Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Environment
Chemical Mixtures and Environmental Effects
New Sediment-Toxicity Benchmarks Available for Pesticides in Whole Sediment
Landfill Leachate Released to Wastewater Treatment Plants and other Environmental Pathways Contains a Mixture of Contaminants including Pharmaceuticals
Environmental Contaminants and Beak Deformities in Alaskan Chickadees
- Overview
Contaminants can be chemical or biological and represent major stressors to ecosystems, including human and wildlife populations. Chemical contaminants include those purposefully released into the environment (for example, pesticides) and those that are inadvertently released (for example, mining waste). Biological contaminants can harm our food, water or environment with microorganisms (for example, fungus, bacteria, virus). USGS scientists are helping to understand potential environmental and health hazards posed by chemical and biological contaminants. We study the connections between air, water, soil, and living things to identify the environmental pathways that expose humans and wildlife to contaminants.
Environmental Health ProgramEnvironmental Health ProgramContaminants and PathogensContaminants and PathogensEmerging ContaminantsEmerging ContaminantsNatural Resource Damage Assessment and RestorationNatural Resource Damage Assessment and RestorationUSGS Contaminants ScienceFilter Total Items: 48Scientists Examined Native Pollinator Exposure Risk to Neonicotinoids in Native Prairie Strips
Neonicotinoids were not detected in native prairie plants placed next to agricultural fields several years after discontinuation of neonicotinoid seed treatment. In addition, neonicotinoid concentrations were lower or absent in soils and runoff at sites with the native prairie strips.Occurrence of Avian Influenza Virus in Groundwater—Study Provides Baseline Data and Informs Future Studies
This pilot study provided baseline data on avian influenza virus (AIV) occurrence in groundwater underlying poultry farms and documented the challenges for conducting a pathogen transport study during a disease outbreak.Sources of Contaminants to Congaree National Park—USGS and National Park Service Working Together
A National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study determined the concentrations, potential for degradation, and potential for aquatic and terrestrial animal exposure to organic contaminants in water and sediment within the flood-plain/aquatic environments of Congaree National Park which is located downstream from urban and agricultural areas.USGS Scientists Receive Award for Pioneering Work on White-Nose Syndrome in Bats
Dr. Carol U. Meteyer and Dr. David S. Blehert received the Tom Thorne and Beth Williams Memorial Award from the Wildlife Disease Association and the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians for their pioneering work on white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats.Environmental Stressors and Wildlife Health
Environmental stressors such as contaminants and disease can cause physiological imbalance in all types of wildlife. WERC’s Drs. Lizabeth Bowen and A. Keith Miles develop gene transcription profiles to detect organisms’ physiological responses to environmental stressors and provide resource managers with early warnings for potential effects on wildlife and ecosystem health.Low Levels of Contaminants Found in Great Lakes Tree Swallow Nestlings
Tree swallow nestlings at most study sites in the Great Lakes basin were minimally exposed to organic contaminants.Assessing Impacts to Ecosystems from Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon Region
The use of uranium is an alternative energy source to petroleum products and some of the United States’ highest quality ore is located on the Colorado Plateau. However, some regions where suitable mining efforts are conducted include areas that are near important environmental resources such as National Parks that provide viewscapes and habitat for wildlife.Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Environment
The USGS is conducting source-to-receptor research on a broad range of chemical and microbial contaminants including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pathogens, antibiotic resistant genes, and natural toxins that are not commonly considered in environmental research but have the potential to impact environmental health.Chemical Mixtures and Environmental Effects
The USGS is investigating the occurrence and environmental effects of complex mixtures of both natural and man-made chemicals in environmental waters.New Sediment-Toxicity Benchmarks Available for Pesticides in Whole Sediment
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists developed 129 sediment-toxicity benchmarks for use in evaluating currently used pesticides in whole sediment.Landfill Leachate Released to Wastewater Treatment Plants and other Environmental Pathways Contains a Mixture of Contaminants including Pharmaceuticals
New scientific research from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) details how landfill leachate, disposed from landfills to environmental pathways, is host to numerous contaminants of emerging concern (CECs).Environmental Contaminants and Beak Deformities in Alaskan Chickadees
A recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides some of the first environmental contaminants data for a species of passerine bird (perching birds) in Alaska but leaves unanswered questions as to the cause of beak abnormalities found in this species.Beginning in the late 1990s, biologists and members of the public reported an unusual number of beak abnormalities among black-capped...