Human Exposure

The team studies toxicants and pathogens in water resources from their sources, through watersheds, aquifers, and infrastructure to human and wildlife exposures. That information is used to develop decision tools that protect human and wildlife health.

The team develops advanced methods to study factors driving algal toxin production, how and where wildlife or humans are exposed to toxins, and ecotoxicology. That information is used to develop decision tools to understand if ​ toxin exposure leads to adverse health effects in order to protect human and wildlife health.

Ecotoxicology and ecological risks of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are summarized to highlight critical gaps and uncertainties, and to provide potential approaches to fill those gaps, including the development of targeted monitoring programs and cross-disciplinary approaches.

A National-scale approach is used to examine and analyze per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) prevalence and magnitude in watersheds and aquifers. As an initial step to fill known science gaps in the understanding of human and wildlife exposure, the team will provide a snapshot of PFAS in drinking water paired with bioaccumulation in fish and wildlife near known or suspected sources of...

Environmental Health Program scientists, in collaboration with other USGS scientists, are developing complementary field and laboratory methods and capabilities to detect and quantify a range of target and nontarget per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and indicator compounds at low levels (parts per trillion) in a variety of environmental matrices. The PFAS Integrated Science Team is...

The Energy Lifecycle Integrated Science Team focuses on the potential for contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from energy resource activities including, extraction, production, transportation, storage, extraction, waste management and restoration. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are...

Fish mercury data from State monitoring programs and research studies within the Chesapeake Bay were compiled and summarized to provide a comprehensive overview of the variation in fish mercury concentrations among species and habitats within the watershed. These data are put into context with existing health benchmarks for humans, birds, and fish. Scientists also provide a roadmap for an...

Scientists reported the discovery of three neonicotinoid pesticides in drinking water and their potential for transformation and removal during water treatment. The research provides new insights into the persistence of neonicotinoids and their potential for transformation during water treatment and distribution, while also identifying granulated activated carbon as a potentially effective...

Dale Warren Griffin, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) environmental public-health microbiologist, was selected as a Waksman Foundation Distinguished Lecturer for the 2020–22 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Lecture Series.

USGS scientists use innovative isotopic identification methods to determine mercury sources in air, water, sediments, and wildlife.

Cyanobacterial bloom magnitude during 2003–11 was quantified and ranked in Florida and Ohio lakes with a newly developed modelling tool that allows for the use of multiple satellite data sources and user-defined thresholds. This tool was designed to identify the magnitude of algal blooms, but one metric alone cannot adequately represent the severity of a bloom of interest in terms of toxicity. The...

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and academic scientists partnered to identify challenges and provide considerations for future scientific study designs to advance our understanding of the often subtle sublethal effects of contaminants on individuals, populations, communities, and entire aquatic food webs.