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: 3784

Historical trends in organochlorine compounds in river basins identified using sediment cores from reservoirs Historical trends in organochlorine compounds in river basins identified using sediment cores from reservoirs

This study used chemical analyses of dated sediment cores from reservoirs to define historical trends in water quality in the influent river basins. This work applies techniques from paleolimnology to reservoirs, and in the process, highlights differences between sediment-core interpretations for reservoirs and natural lakes. Sediment cores were collected from six reservoirs in the...
Authors
P. C. Van Metre, E. Callender, C. C. Fuller

The urban atmosphere as a non-point source for the transport of MTBE and other volatile organic compounds (VOCS) to shallow groundwater The urban atmosphere as a non-point source for the transport of MTBE and other volatile organic compounds (VOCS) to shallow groundwater

Infiltration and dispersion (including molecular diffusion) can transport volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from urban air into shallow groundwater. The gasoline additive methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is of special interest because of its (1) current levels in some urban air, (2) strong partitioning from air into water, (3) resistance to degradation, (4) use as an octane-booster since...
Authors
J. F. Pankow, N.R. Thomson, Richard L. Johnson, A. L. Baehr, J.S. Zogorski

Multiphase flow modeling of a crude-oil spill site with a bimodal permeability distribution Multiphase flow modeling of a crude-oil spill site with a bimodal permeability distribution

Fluid saturation, particle-size distribution, and porosity measurements were obtained from 269 core samples collected from six boreholes along a 90-m transect at a subregion of a crude-oil spill site, the north pool, near Bemidji, Minnesota. The oil saturation data, collected 11 years after the spill, showed an irregularly shaped oil body that appeared to be affected by sediment spatial
Authors
Leslie A. Dillard, Hedeff I. Essaid, William N. Herkelrath

Statistical modeling of agricultural chemical occurrence in midwestern rivers Statistical modeling of agricultural chemical occurrence in midwestern rivers

Agricultural chemicals in surface water may constitute a human health risk or have adverse effects on aquatic life. Recent research on unregulated rivers in the midwestern USA documents that elevated concentrations of herbicides occur for 1-4 months following application in late spring and early summer. In contrast, nitrate concentrations in unregulated rivers are elevated during fall...
Authors
W.A. Battaglin, D. A. Goolsby

Effects of carbon dioxide variations in the unsaturated zone on water chemistry in a glacial-outwash aquifer Effects of carbon dioxide variations in the unsaturated zone on water chemistry in a glacial-outwash aquifer

The research site at Otis Air Base, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been developed for hydrogeological and geochemical studies of sewage-effluent contaminated groundwater since 1982. Research of hydrologic properties, transport, and chemical and biological processes is ongoing, but the origin of background water chemistry has not been determined. The principal geochemical process giving...
Authors
R. W. Lee

Assimilation efficiencies and turnover rates of trace elements in marine bivalves: A comparison of oysters, clams and mussels Assimilation efficiencies and turnover rates of trace elements in marine bivalves: A comparison of oysters, clams and mussels

Assimilation efficiencies (AEs) and physiological turnover-rate constants (k) of six trace elements (Ag, Am, Cd, Co, Se, Zn) in four marine bivalves (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin,Macoma balthica Linnaeus, Mercenaria mercenaria Linnaeus, and Mytilus edulis Linnaeus) were measured in radiotracer-depuration experiments. Egestion rates of unassimilated elements were highest during the first...
Authors
J.R. Reinfelder, W.-X. Wang, S. N. Luoma, N.S. Fisher

Practical considerations for measuring hydrogen concentrations in groundwater Practical considerations for measuring hydrogen concentrations in groundwater

Several practical considerations for measuring concentrations of dissolved molecular hydrogen (H2) in groundwater including 1 sampling methods 2 pumping methods and (3) effects of well casing materials were evaluated. Three different sampling methodologies (a downhole sampler, a gas- stripping method, and a diffusion sampler) were compared. The downhole sampler and gas-stripping methods...
Authors
F. H. Chapelle, D.A. Vroblesky, J.C. Woodward, Derek R. Lovley

Potential for intrinsic bioremediation of a DNT-contaminated aquifer Potential for intrinsic bioremediation of a DNT-contaminated aquifer

Microorganisms indigenous to a shallow aquifer, which underlies an explosives-contaminated site, mineralized 28% of [U-ring-14C] 2,4–dinitrotoluene to 14CO2 within 28 days under aerobic conditions. Approximately 20% of added 2,4–dinitrotoluene remained undegraded at the end of the incubation while approximately 22% and 6% were transformed to 4–amino-2–nitrotoluene and 2–amino-4...
Authors
P. M. Bradley, F. H. Chapelle, J. E. Landmeyer, J.G. Schumacher

Analysis of the Cape Cod tracer data Analysis of the Cape Cod tracer data

An analysis of the Cape Cod test was performed using several first- and higher-order theoretical models. We compare conditional and unconditional solutions of the transport equation and employ them for analysis of the experimental data. We consider spatial moments, mass breakthrough curves, and the distribution of the solute mass in space. The concentration measurements were also...
Authors
Souheil Ezzedine, Yoram Rubin

Terbuthylazine and deethylterbuthylazine in rain and surface water: Determination by enzyme immunoassay and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry Terbuthylazine and deethylterbuthylazine in rain and surface water: Determination by enzyme immunoassay and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Rain and surface water samples from Southern Germany were investigated from 1991 to 1995 for terbuthylazine and one of its major metabolites, deethylterbuthylazine. The concentrations observed were compared to the concentrations found for atrazine and deethylatrazine in the same water samples. Concentrations ranged from 0.02 μg/L to 0.7 μg/L for terbuthylazine and from 0.02 μg/L to 0.6...
Authors
A. Dankwardt, E.M. Thurman, B. Hock

Concentration and transport of chlordane and nonachlor associated with suspended sediment in the Mississippi River, May 1988 to June 1990 Concentration and transport of chlordane and nonachlor associated with suspended sediment in the Mississippi River, May 1988 to June 1990

Technical chlordane, a formerly widely used organochlorine pesticide, has become widespread in the environment. The distribution of technical chlordane in riverine environments may be due in part to resuspension and aqueous transport of contaminated bed sediment. To test this hypothesis, the Mississippi River was sampled for suspended sediment five times over a two- year period, at up to...
Authors
C.E. Rostad
Was this page helpful?