Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
GeoHEALTH-USGS Newsletter
The GeoHEALTH–USGS Newsletter—published since 2004—provides information on USGS science activities pertinent to safeguarding the health of fish, wildlife, domesticated animals, and people from environmental exposures to contaminants and pathogens.
Featured Science Activities
Featured Science Activities
Learn about our Featured Science Activities through our pages that highlight studies, publications, and results.
Filter Total Items: 4093
Irrigation-induced contamination--How real a problem Irrigation-induced contamination--How real a problem
The U.S. Department of the Interior has embarked on a series of reconnaissance‐level investigations throughout the western states to identify, evaluate, and respond to irrigation‐induced water quality problems. A series of water, sediment, and biological samples are being analyzed for 17 inorganic constituents and a number of pesticides. 19 studies in 13 states have been undertaken...
Authors
Jonathan P. Deason
Transport and degradation of water-soluble creosote-derived compounds Transport and degradation of water-soluble creosote-derived compounds
Creosote is the most extensively used insecticide and industrial wood preservative today. It is estimated that there are more than 600 wood-preserving plants in the United States, and their collective use of creosote exceeds 4.5xl06 kg/yr (von Rumker et al., 1975). Creosote is a complex mixture of more than 200 major individual organic compounds with differing molecular weights...
Authors
E. Michael Godsy, D.F. Goerlitz, Dunja Grbic-Galic
Partition and adsorption on soil and mobility of organic pollutants and pesticides Partition and adsorption on soil and mobility of organic pollutants and pesticides
The mechanism for sorption of organic pollutants and pesticides by soil has long been a subject of profound interest because of its direct impacts on the mobility and activity of the compounds in soil. Although a large volume of laboratory and field data on many aspects of soil behavior had been gathered between the 1950s and 1970s, during which period the use of organic pesticides was...
Authors
C. T. Chiou
Aqueous equilibrium data for a mononuclear aluminum species Aqueous equilibrium data for a mononuclear aluminum species
No abstract available.
Authors
D. Kirk Nordstrom, Howard M. May
Methanogenesis in hypersaline environments Methanogenesis in hypersaline environments
No abstract available.
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland, G.M. King
Discussion of "Influence of temperature on oxygen transfer" by Allen C. Chao, David S. Chang, Charles Smallwood, Jr., and William S. Galler (August, 1987, Vol. 113, No. 4) Discussion of "Influence of temperature on oxygen transfer" by Allen C. Chao, David S. Chang, Charles Smallwood, Jr., and William S. Galler (August, 1987, Vol. 113, No. 4)
No abstract available.
Authors
R.E. Rathburn
Analysis of chlorinated organic compounds in estuarine biota and sediments by chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry Analysis of chlorinated organic compounds in estuarine biota and sediments by chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry
Complex sample matrices of estuarine biota tissue and bed sediment extracts were analyzed for selected chlorinated compounds. By using gas chromatography/positive chemical ionization/tandem mass spectrometry, the coeluting interferences present in gas chromatography/electron ionization mass spectrometry were eliminated in the biota tissue and bed sediment extracts. The selected...
Authors
C.E. Rostad, W. E. Pereira
Retardation of ammonium and potassium transport through a contaminated sand and gravel aquifer: The Role of cation exchange Retardation of ammonium and potassium transport through a contaminated sand and gravel aquifer: The Role of cation exchange
The role of cation exchange in the retardation of ammonium (NH4+) and potassium (K+) transport in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer was evaluated by use of observed distributions of NH4+ and K+ within a plume of sewage-contaminated groundwater, small-scale tracer injection tests, and batch sorption experiments on aquifer material. Both NH4+ and K+ were transported ???2 km in the 4-km...
Authors
M.L. Ceazan, E.M. Thurman, R. L. Smith
Oxidation of aromatic contaminants coupled to microbial iron reduction Oxidation of aromatic contaminants coupled to microbial iron reduction
THE contamination of sub-surface water supplies with aromatic compounds is a significant environmental concern1,2. As these contaminated sub-surface environments are generally anaerobic, the microbial oxidation of aromatic compounds coupled to nitrate reduction, sulphate reduction and methane production has been studied intensively1-7. In addition, geochemical evidence suggests that Fe...
Authors
Derek R. Lovley, M.J. Baedecker, D.J. Lonergan, I.M. Cozzarelli, Elizabeth J.P. Phillips, D. I. Siegel
Requirement for a microbial consortium to completely oxidize glucose in Fe(III)- reducing sediments Requirement for a microbial consortium to completely oxidize glucose in Fe(III)- reducing sediments
In various sediments in which Fe(III) reduction was the terminal electron-accepting process, [14C]glucose was fermented to 14C-fatty acids in a manner similar to that observed in methanogenic sediments. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that, in Fe(III)-reducing sediments, fermentable substrates are oxidized to carbon dioxide by the combined activity of fermentative...
Authors
Derek R. Lovley, Elizabeth J.P. Phillips
Simultaneous determination of major and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry/optical emission spectrometry Simultaneous determination of major and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry/optical emission spectrometry
No abstract available.
Authors
John R. Garbarino, Howard E. Taylor, W.C. Batie