Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).

Filter Total Items: 4098

Selenium isotope fractionation during reduction by Fe(II)-Fe(III) hydroxide-sulfate (green rust) Selenium isotope fractionation during reduction by Fe(II)-Fe(III) hydroxide-sulfate (green rust)

We have determined the extent of Se isotope fractionation induced by reduction of selenate by sulfate interlayered green rust (GRSO4), a Fe(II)-Fe(III) hydroxide-sulfate. This compound is known to reduce selenate to Se(0), and it is the only naturally relevant abiotic selenate reduction pathway documented to date. Se reduction reactions, when they occur in nature, greatly reduce Se...
Authors
T.M. Johnson, Thomas D. Bullen

Use of hydraulic head to estimate volumetric gas content and ebullition flux in northern peatlands Use of hydraulic head to estimate volumetric gas content and ebullition flux in northern peatlands

Hydraulic head was overpressured at middepth in a 4.2‐m thick raised bog in the Glacial Lake Agassiz peatlands of northern Minnesota, and fluctuated in response to atmospheric pressure. Barometric efficiency (BE), determined by calculating ratios of change in hydraulic head to change in atmospheric pressure, ranged from 0.05 to 0.15 during July through November of both 1997 and 1998. The
Authors
Donald O. Rosenberry, Paul H. Glaser, Donald I. Siegel, Edwin P. Weeks

Herbicides and transformation products in surface waters of the Midwestern United States Herbicides and transformation products in surface waters of the Midwestern United States

Most herbicides applied to crops are adsorbed by plants or transformed (degraded) in the soil, but small fractions are lost from fields and either move to streams in overland runoff, near surface flow, or subsurface drains, or they infiltrate slowly to ground water. Herbicide transformation products (TPs) can be more or less mobile and more or less toxic in the environment than their...
Authors
W.A. Battaglin, E.M. Thurman, S. J. Kalkhoff, S. D. Porter

Escherichia coli and enterococci at beaches in the Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan: Sources, characteristics, and environmental pathways Escherichia coli and enterococci at beaches in the Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan: Sources, characteristics, and environmental pathways

This study quantified Escherichia coli(EC) and enterococci (ENT) in beach waters and dominant source materials, correlated these with ambient conditions, and determined selected EC genotypes and ENT phenotypes. Bathing-water ENT criteria were exceeded more frequently than EC criteria, providing conflicting interpretations of water quality. Dominant sources of EC and ENT were bird feces...
Authors
S.K. Haack, L.R. Fogarty, C. Wright

Geomorphic and hydrologic assessment of erosion hazards at the Norman municipal landfill, Canadian River floodplain, central Oklahoma Geomorphic and hydrologic assessment of erosion hazards at the Norman municipal landfill, Canadian River floodplain, central Oklahoma

The Norman, Oklahoma, municipal landfill closed in 1985 after 63 years of operation, because it was identified as a point source of hazardous leachate composed of organic and inorganic compounds. The landfill is located on the floodplain of the Canadian River, a sand-bed river characterized by erodible channel boundaries and by large variation in mean monthly discharges. In 1986...
Authors
Jennifer A. Curtis, John W. Whitney

Simplified method for detecting tritium contamination in plants and soil Simplified method for detecting tritium contamination in plants and soil

Cost-effective methods are needed to identify the presence and distribution of tritium near radioactive waste disposal and other contaminated sites. The objectives of this study were to (i) develop a simplified sample preparation method for determining tritium contamination in plants and (ii) determine if plant data could be used as an indicator of soil contamination. The method entailed
Authors
Brian J. Andraski, Mark W. Sandstrom, R. L. Michel, J.C. Radyk, David A. Stonestrom, M. J. Johnson, C.J. Mayers

Bioreactors for removing methyl bromide following contained fumigations Bioreactors for removing methyl bromide following contained fumigations

Use of methyl bromide (MeBr) as a quarantine, commodity, or structural fumigant is under scrutiny because its release to the atmosphere contributes to the depletion of stratospheric ozone. A closed-system bioreactor consisting of 0.5 L of a growing culture of a previously described bacterium, strain IMB-1, removed MeBr (>110 μmol L-1) from recirculating air. Strain IMB-1 grew slowly to...
Authors
Laurence G. Miller, Shaun Baesman, Ronald S. Oremland

Mass spectrometric identification of an azobenzene derivative produced by smectite-catalyzed conversion of 3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid Mass spectrometric identification of an azobenzene derivative produced by smectite-catalyzed conversion of 3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid

The compound 3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid (3-amino-HPAA) reacts with smectite to form a soluble azobenzene arsonic acid compound. This reaction is of particular interest because it provides a possible mechanism for the formation of a new type of arsenic compound in natural water systems. 3-Amino-HPAA is a degradation product excreted by chickens that are fed rations amended with...
Authors
Robert L. Wershaw, David W. Rutherford, Colleen E. Rostad, John R. Garbarino, I. Ferrer, K. R. Kennedy, G.-M. Momplaisir, A. Grange

Benthic sulfate reduction along the Chesapeake Bay central channel. II. Temporal controls Benthic sulfate reduction along the Chesapeake Bay central channel. II. Temporal controls

Seasonal and interannual controls of benthic sulfate reduction (SR) were examined at 3 sites (upper [UB], mid- [MB] and lower [LB] bay) along the Chesapeake Bay central channel, from early spring through fall, for 6 yr (1989 to 1994). The combined influences of temperature, sulfate, organic loading and bioturbation affected seasonal SR rates differently in the 3 regions. Consistently low...
Authors
M. C. Marvin-DiPasquale, W.R. Boynton, D.G. Capone

Molecular-scale characterization of uranium sorption by bone apatite materials for a permeable reactive barrier demonstration Molecular-scale characterization of uranium sorption by bone apatite materials for a permeable reactive barrier demonstration

Uranium binding to bone charcoal and bone meal apatite materials was investigated using U LIII-edge EXAFS spectroscopy and synchrotron source XRD measurements of laboratory batch preparations in the absence and presence of dissolved carbonate. Pelletized bone char apatite recovered from a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) at Fry Canyon, UT, was also studied. EXAFS analyses indicate that U...
Authors
C. C. Fuller, J.R. Bargar, J.A. Davis

Selenium in San Francisco Bay zooplankton: Potential effects of hydrodynamics and food web interactions Selenium in San Francisco Bay zooplankton: Potential effects of hydrodynamics and food web interactions

The potential toxicity of elevated selenium (Se) concentrations in aquatic ecosystems has stimulated efforts to measure Se concentrations in benthos, nekton, and waterfowl in San Francisco Bay (SF Bay). In September 1998, we initiated a 14 mo field study to determine the concentration of Se in SF Bay zooplankton, which play a major role in the Bay food web, but which have not previously...
Authors
D.G. Purkerson, M.A. Doblin, S.M. Bollens, S. N. Luoma, G.A. Cutter
Was this page helpful?