Dana W Kolpin
Dana Kolpin is a Research Hydrologist, with the Central Midwest Water Science Center in Iowa City, Iowa. Dana started his career with the USGS in 1984. His research interests include the fate, transport, and effects of environmental contaminants (e.g. pesticides, human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, hormones, etc.) in the environment.
Dana was the project lead of the USGS Toxic Program’s CECs in the Environment Project for its entire history (1998 – 2017). He is now project lead of the USGS Toxic Program’s newly formed Food Project (i.e. understanding the potential for health risks from contaminant exposures associated with production, manufacturing, use, and consumption of food, beverage, and feedstock products). He has published over 200 papers and reports on environmental contaminants. His paper "Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000: A national reconnaissance" was a seminal paper on the occurrence of CECs in water resources, and was the first national-scale study of such compounds conducted in the United States. This paper has become the most heavily cited paper in Environmental Science & Technology history. He has published a diverse array of papers on the topic of environmental contaminants including research on CECs in landfills, changes in stream water chemistry and hydrology related to the closure of a wastewater treatment plant, detection of swine hepatitis E virus in streams, the transport of neonicotinoid insecticides in streams, the uptake of CECs into earthworms and into fish neural tissue, the occurrence of natural toxins (i.e. phytoestrogens and mycotoxins) in streams, and the first ever documentation of the off-field transport on nitrapyrin and herbicide safeners to streams. His most recent research interests include linking tap water quality to human health end points, investigating PFAS exposures in rural settings, determining the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment, and understanding chemical and microbial contaminants being discharged into the environment by food and feedstock processing plants.
Education and Certifications
M.S., Geology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
B.S., Geology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Science and Products
The importance of quality control in validating concentrationsof contaminants of emerging concern in source and treateddrinking water samples
Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies
Rainfall-runoff of anthropogenic waste indicators from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids
Nationwide reconnaissance of contaminants of emerging concern in source and treated drinking waters of the United States: Pharmaceuticals
Comparison of in vitro estrogenic activity and estrogen concentrations insource and treated waters from 25 U.S. drinking water treatment plants
Exposure to the contraceptive progestin, gestodene, alters reproductive behavior, arrests egg deposition, and masculinizes development in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Occurrence of triclocarban and triclosan in an agro-ecosystem following application of biosolids
Nitrapyrin in streams: The first study documenting off-field transport of a nitrogen stabilizer compound
Microbial pathogens in source and treated waters from drinking water treatment plants in the United States and implications for human health
Understanding the hydrologic impacts of wastewater treatment plant discharge to shallow groundwater: Before and after plant shutdown
Pre/post-closure assessment of groundwater pharmaceutical fate in a wastewater‑facility-impacted stream reach
Detection of hepatitis E virus and other livestock-related pathogens in Iowa streams
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The importance of quality control in validating concentrationsof contaminants of emerging concern in source and treateddrinking water samples
A national-scale survey of 247 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including organic and inorganic chemical compounds, andmicrobial contaminants, was conducted in source and treated drinkingwater samples from 25 treatment plants across the United States.Multiplemethodswere used to determine these CECs, including six analytical methods tomeasure 174 pharmaceuticals, personal care products, andAuthorsAngela L. Batt, Edward T. Furlong, Heath E. Mash, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. KolpinHuman health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies
The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the U. S. Environmental Protection AgencAuthorsRobert Benson, Octavia D. Conerly, William Sander, Angela L. Batt, J. Scott Boone, Edward T. Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Heath MashRainfall-runoff of anthropogenic waste indicators from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids
The presence of anthropogenic contaminants such as antimicrobials, flame-retardants, and plasticizers in runoff from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids may pose a potential threat to the environment. This study assesses the potential for rainfall-induced runoff of 69 anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs), widely found in household and industrial products, from biosolids amended fAuthorsJames L. Gray, Thomas Borch, Edward T. Furlong, Jessica Davis, Tracy Yager, Yun-Ya Yang, Dana W. KolpinNationwide reconnaissance of contaminants of emerging concern in source and treated drinking waters of the United States: Pharmaceuticals
Mobile and persistent chemicals that are present in urban wastewater, such as pharmaceuticals, may survive on-site ormunicipal wastewater treatment and post-discharge environmental processes. These pharmaceuticals have the potential to reach surface and groundwaters, essential drinking-water sources. A joint, two-phase U.S. Geological Survey-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study examined sourAuthorsEdward T. Furlong, Angela L. Batt, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Mary C. Noriega, Dana W. Kolpin, Heath Mash, Kathleen M. SchenckComparison of in vitro estrogenic activity and estrogen concentrations insource and treated waters from 25 U.S. drinking water treatment plants
In vitro bioassays have been successfully used to screen for estrogenic activity in wastewater and surface water, however, few have been applied to treated drinking water. Here, extracts of source and treated water samples were assayed for estrogenic activity using T47D-KBluc cells and analyzed by liquid chromatography-Fourier transform mass spectrometry (LC-FTMS) for natural and synthetic estrogeAuthorsJustin M. Conley, Nicola Evans, Heath Mash, Laura Rosenblum, Kathleen Schenck, Susan Glassmeyer, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Vickie S. WilsonExposure to the contraceptive progestin, gestodene, alters reproductive behavior, arrests egg deposition, and masculinizes development in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Endogenous progestogens and pharmaceutical progestins enter the environment through wastewater treatment plant effluent and agricultural field runoff. Lab studies demonstrate strong, negative exposure effects of these chemicals on aquatic vertebrate reproduction. Behavior can be a sensitive, early indicator of exposure to environmental contaminants associated with altered reproduction yet is rarelAuthorsTyler E. Frankel, Michael T. Meyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Amanda B. Gillis, David A. Alvarez, Edward F. OrlandoOccurrence of triclocarban and triclosan in an agro-ecosystem following application of biosolids
Triclocarban (TCC) and triclosan (TCS), two of the most commonly used antimicrobial compounds, can be introduced into ecosystems by applying wastewater treatment plant biosolids to agricultural fields. Concentrations of TCC and TCS were measured in different trophic levels within a terrestrial food web encompassing land-applied biosolids, soil, earthworms (Lumbricus), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculAuthorsJessica J. Sherburne, Amanda M. Anaya, Kimberly J. Fernie, Jennifer S. Forbey, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Alfred M. Dufty, Chad A. KinneyNitrapyrin in streams: The first study documenting off-field transport of a nitrogen stabilizer compound
Nitrapyrin is a bactericide that is co-applied with fertilizer to prevent nitrification and enhance corn yields. While there have been studies of the environmental fate of nitrapyrin, there is no documentation of its off-field transport to streams. In 2016, 59 water samples from 11 streams across Iowa were analyzed for nitrapyrin and its degradate, 6-chloropicolinic acid (6-CPA), along with threeAuthorsEmily Woodward, Michelle Hladik, Dana W. KolpinMicrobial pathogens in source and treated waters from drinking water treatment plants in the United States and implications for human health
An occurrence survey was conducted on selected pathogens in source and treated drinking water collected from 25 drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in the United States. Water samples were analyzed for the protozoa Giardia and Cryptosporidium (EPA Method 1623); the fungi Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus terreus (quantitative PCR [qPCR]); and the bacteria Legionella pneuAuthorsDawn N. King, Maura J. Donohue, Stephen J. Vesper, Eric N. Villegas, Michael W. Ware, Megan E. Vogel, Edward Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Stacy PfallerUnderstanding the hydrologic impacts of wastewater treatment plant discharge to shallow groundwater: Before and after plant shutdown
Effluent-impacted surface water has the potential to transport not only water, but wastewater-derived contaminants to shallow groundwater systems. To better understand the effects of effluent discharge on in-stream and near-stream hydrologic conditions in wastewater-impacted systems, water-level changes were monitored in hyporheic-zone and shallow-groundwater piezometers in a reach of Fourmile CreAuthorsLaura E. Hubbard, Steffanie H. Keefe, Dana W. Kolpin, Larry B. Barber, Joseph W. Duris, Kasey J. Hutchinson, Paul M. BradleyPre/post-closure assessment of groundwater pharmaceutical fate in a wastewater‑facility-impacted stream reach
Pharmaceutical contamination of contiguous groundwater is a substantial concern in wastewater-impacted streams, due to ubiquity in effluent, high aqueous mobility, designed bioactivity, and to effluent-driven hydraulic gradients. Wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) closures are rare environmental remediation events; offering unique insights into contaminant persistence, long-term wastewater impacAuthorsPaul M. Bradley, Larry B. Barber, Jimmy M. Clark, Joseph W. Duris, William T. Foreman, Edward T. Furlong, Carrie E. Givens, Laura E. Hubbard, Kasey J. Hutchinson, Celeste A. Journey, Steffanie H. Keefe, Dana W. KolpinDetection of hepatitis E virus and other livestock-related pathogens in Iowa streams
Manure application is a source of pathogens to the environment. Through overland runoff and tile drainage, zoonotic pathogens can contaminate surface water and streambed sediment and could affect both wildlife and human health. This study examined the environmental occurrence of gene markers for livestock-related bacterial, protozoan, and viral pathogens and antibiotic resistance in surface watersAuthorsCarrie E. Givens, Dana W. Kolpin, Mark A. Borchardt, Joseph W. Duris, Thomas B. Moorman, Susan K. Spencer - News