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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 4098

Organic contamination of ground water at Gas Works Park, Seattle, Washington Organic contamination of ground water at Gas Works Park, Seattle, Washington

Gas Works Park, in Seattle, Washington, is located on the site of a coal and oil gasification plant that ceased operation in 1956. During operation, many types of wastes, including coal, tar, and oil, accumulated on-site. The park soil is currently (1986) contaminated with compounds such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, trace metals, and cyanide. Analyses...
Authors
G. L. Turney, D.F. Goerlitz

Well-purging criteria for sampling purgeable organic compounds Well-purging criteria for sampling purgeable organic compounds

The results indicate that 1) purgeable organic compound concentrations stabilized when three casing volume were purged in only 55% of the cases evaluated in this study, 2) purgeable organic compounds concentrations did not consistently follow the temporal variation of, nor stabilize at the same time as, the measure field characteristics, and 3) purging to achieve hydraulic equilibrium...
Authors
J. Gibs, T.E. Imbrigiotta

Anaerobic oxidation of toluene, phenol, and p-cresol by the dissimilatory iron-reducing organism, GS-15 Anaerobic oxidation of toluene, phenol, and p-cresol by the dissimilatory iron-reducing organism, GS-15

The dissimilatory Fe(III) reducer, GS-15, is the first microorganism known to couple the oxidation of aromatic compounds to the reduction of Fe(III) and the first example of a pure culture of any kind known to anaerobically oxidize an aromatic hydrocarbon, toluene. In this study, the metabolism of toluene, phenol, and p-cresol by GS-15 was investigated in more detail. GS-15 grew in an...
Authors
Derek R. Lovley, D.J. Lonergan

Nitrogen fixation dynamics of two diazotrophic communities in Mono Lake, California Nitrogen fixation dynamics of two diazotrophic communities in Mono Lake, California

Two types of diazotrophic microbial communities were found in the littoral zone of alkaline hypersaline Mono Lake, California. One consisted of anaerobic bacteria inhabiting the flocculent surface layers of sediments. Nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) by flocculent surface layers occurred under anaerobic conditions, was not stimulated by light or by additions of organic substrates...
Authors
R.S. Oremland

Prediction of stream volatilization coefficients Prediction of stream volatilization coefficients

Equations are developed for predicting the liquid-film and gas-film reference-substance parameters for quantifying volatilization of organic solutes from streams. Molecular weight and molecular-diffusion coefficients of the solute are used as correlating parameters. Equations for predicting molecular-diffusion coefficients of organic solutes in water and air are developed, with molecular...
Authors
Ronald E. Rathbun

Distribution and transport of sediment-bound metal contaminants in the Rio Grande de Tarcoles, Costa Rica (Central America) Distribution and transport of sediment-bound metal contaminants in the Rio Grande de Tarcoles, Costa Rica (Central America)

A reconnaissance survey of the extent of metal contamination in the Rio Grande de Tarcoles river system of Costa Rica indicated high levels of chromium (Cr) in the fine-grain bed sediments (
Authors
C. C. Fuller, J.A. Davis, D.J. Cain, P. J. Lamothe, T.L.G. Fries Fernandez, J.A. Vargas, M.M. Murillo

Kinetically influenced terms for solute transport affected by heterogeneous and homogeneous classical reactions Kinetically influenced terms for solute transport affected by heterogeneous and homogeneous classical reactions

Simulation of transport affected by heterogeneous or homogeneous reversible reactions requires a choice between local equilibrium-based and kinetics-based models. The error associated with the use of equilibrium-based models is equivalent to the error of neglecting certain mathematical terms in the governing kinetics-based transport equations. Identification and evaluation of these...
Authors
Jean M. Bahr

The surface area of soil organic matter The surface area of soil organic matter

The previously reported surface area for soil organic matter (SOM) of 560-800 m2/g as determined by the ethylene glycol (EG) retention method was reexamined by the standard BET method based on nitrogen adsorption at liquid nitrogen temperature. Test samples consisted of two high organic content soils, a freeze-dried soil humic acid, and an oven-dried soil humic acid. The measured BET...
Authors
C. T. Chiou, J.-F. Lee, S.A. Boyd

The occurrence and distribution of trace metals in the Mississippi River and its tributaries The occurrence and distribution of trace metals in the Mississippi River and its tributaries

Quantitative and semiquantitative analyses of dissolved trace metals are reported for designated sampling sites on the Mississippi River and its main tributaries utilizing depth-integrated and width-integrated sampling technology to collect statistically representative samples. Data are reported for three sampling periods, including: July-August 1987, November-December 1987, and May-June...
Authors
Howard E. Taylor, J.R. Garbarino, T.I. Brinton

Effect of ten quaternary ammonium cations on tetrachloromethane sorption to clay from water Effect of ten quaternary ammonium cations on tetrachloromethane sorption to clay from water

The mineral surface of Wyoming bentonite (clay) was modified by replacing inorganic ions by each of 10 quaternary ammonium compounds, and tetrachloromethane sorption to the modified sorbents from water was studied. Tetrachloromethane sorption from solution to clay modified with tetramethyl-, tetraethyl-, benzyltrimethyl-, or benzyltriethylammonium cations generally is characterized by...
Authors
J. A. Smith

Arsenic in benthic bivalves of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta Arsenic in benthic bivalves of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta

Arsenic concentrations were determined in fine-grained, oxidized, surface sediments and in two benthic bivalves, Corbicula sp. and Macoma balthica, within San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta, and selected rivers not influenced by urban or industrial activity. Arsenic concentrations in all samples were characteristic of values reported for uncontaminated estuaries...
Authors
C. Johns, S. N. Luoma
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