Images

Image of numerous bottles of water used increasingly as an alternative drinking water source.

A biologist measures the length of a brook trout as part of a study on environmental DNA (eDNA).

This USGS map shows the number of PFAS detected in tap water samples from select sites across the nation. The findings are based on a USGS study of samples taken between 2016 and 2021 from private and public supplies at 716 locations. The map does not represent the only locations in the U.S. with PFAS.  

Eric White and Patrick Scordato of the USGS float an electromagnetic imaging tool along a coastal area in Massachusetts to identify terrestrial groundwater discharge that may be impacted by PFAS contamination. 

Image shows different types of sample containers filled with a variety of sample matrices tested by the OGRL. 

Image that shows the research framework for the Environmental Health Program's Source to Receptor Research for Environmental Contaminants

MI-BaRL (Lansing, MI) microbiologist JC Wallace (foreground) and biologist Molly Richard (background) prepare samples for analysis to determine bacteria load and the concentration of E. coli and enterococci.

Michigan Bacterological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) microbiologist JC Wallace (foreground) and biologist Molly Richard (background) prepare samples for analysis to determine bacteria load and the concentration of E. coli and enterococci.

Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) biologist Alexei Rose filters stream water samples for cultivation on selective media for bacteria growth.

USGS Hydrologist collecting water from a dock at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge

The image shows sattelite relectance data that can be accessed using

I Am An...Ecotoxicologist

USGS scientist standing near the high-resolution mass spectrometer at the U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Ecological Science Center. The instrument will be used for analyses of PFAS in plasma and tissue samples. Any display of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

High resolution mass spectrometer at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center.   Any display of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

USGS scientists Gregory D'Agostino and Katherine Wares collecting soil and worms at a site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, that was contaminated by PFAS from fire-fighting foam.  

Invertebrate being collected at a site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, that was contaminated by PFAS from fire-fighting foam used at the site. 

 A USGS scientist wearing black gloves is collecting a sample of tap water from the kitchen sink using small plastic vials to test for PFAS.

Scientist istalling a swallow nest box near Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod Massachusetts as part of a study on the fate and effects of PFAS chemicals. 

Joe Adams (USGS National Uncrewed Systems Office) pilots and Keith Grabner (USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center) acts as visual observer as a drone equipped with EPA particulate and gas samplers (right) hovers in the plume of a spring prescribed burn at the Konza Prairie Biological Station, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas.

U.S. Geological Survey scientists holding a Colorado pikeminnow during a sampling trip in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

United States map showing modeling results (red) of the probability of arsenic concentrations greater than 5 micrograms per liter. Map of sink and faucet superimposed upon it.