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
Water-quality data for pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in ground water and in untreated drinking water sources in the United States, 2000-01
Subsurface fate and transport of sulfamethoxazole, 4-nonylphenol, and 17β-estradiol
A multi-disciplinary approach to the removal of emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plants in New York state (2003-2004)
Environmental presence and persistence of pharmaceuticals: An overview
Exposure assessment of veterinary medicines in aquatic systems
A national reconnaissance for pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States - II) Untreated drinking water sources
A national reconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States - I) Groundwater
Bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals and other anthropogenic waste indicators in earthworms from agricultural soil amended with biosolid or swine manure
Potential for 4-n-nonylphenol biodegradation in stream sediments
Is there a risk associated with the insect repellent DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) commonly found in aquatic environments?
Effects of sorbate speciation on sorption of selected sulfonamides in three loamy soils
Biotransformation of caffeine, cotinine, and nicotine in stream sediments: Implications for use as wastewater indicators
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Water-quality data for pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in ground water and in untreated drinking water sources in the United States, 2000-01
This report presents water-quality data from two nationwide studies on the occurrence and distribution of organic wastewater contaminants. These data are part of the continuing effort of the U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program to collect baseline information on the environmental occurrence of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants. In 2000, samples were colAuthorsKimberlee K. Barnes, Dana W. Kolpin, Michael J. Focazio, Edward T. Furlong, Michael T. Meyer, Steven D. Zaugg, Sheridan K. Haack, Larry B. Barber, E. Michael ThurmanSubsurface fate and transport of sulfamethoxazole, 4-nonylphenol, and 17β-estradiol
Subsurface fate and transport of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SX), the non-ionic surfactant degradation product 4-nonylphenol (NP), and the sex hormone 17β-estradiol (E2) were evaluated in a plume of contaminated groundwater at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. The plume is the result of 60 years of wastewater treatment plant effluent disposal into rapid infiltration beds. Natural-gradient, in sitAuthorsL. B. Barber, M. T. Meyer, D.R. LeBlanc, Dana W. Kolpin, Paul Radley, F. Chapelle, F. RubioA multi-disciplinary approach to the removal of emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plants in New York state (2003-2004)
Across the United States, there is a rapidly growing awareness of the occurrence and the toxicological impacts of natural and synthetic trace compounds in the environment. These trace compounds, referred to as emerging contaminants (ECs), are reported to cause a range of negative impacts in the environment, such as adverse effects on biota in receiving streams and interference with the normal funcAuthorsPatrick J. Philips, Beverley Stinson, Steven D. Zaugg, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Kathleen Esposito, B. Bodniewicz, R. Pape, J. AndersonEnvironmental presence and persistence of pharmaceuticals: An overview
Emerging contaminants (ECs) in the environment – that is, chemicals with domestic, municipal, industrial, or agricultural sources that are not commonly monitored but may have the potential for adverse environmental effects – is a rapidly growing field of research. The use of “emerging” is not intended to infer that the presence of these compounds in the environment is new. These chemicals have beeAuthorsSusan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. Koplin, Edward T. Furlong, M. FocazioExposure assessment of veterinary medicines in aquatic systems
The release of veterinary medicines into the aquatic environment may occur through direct or indirect pathways. An example of direct release is the use of medicines in aquaculture (Armstrong et al. 2005; Davies et al. 1998), where chemicals used to treat fish are added directly to water. Indirect releases, in which medicines make their way to water through transport from other matrices, include thAuthorsChris Metcalfe, Alistair Boxall, Kathrin Fenner, Dana W. Kolpin, Eric Silberhorn, Jane StaveleyA national reconnaissance for pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States - II) Untreated drinking water sources
Numerous studies have shown that a variety of manufactured and natural organic compounds such as pharmaceuticals, steroids, surfactants, flame retardants, fragrances, plasticizers and other chemicals often associated with wastewaters have been detected in the vicinity of municipal wastewater discharges and livestock agricultural facilities. To provide new data and insights about the environmentalAuthorsM. J. Focazio, D.W. Kolpin, K.K. Barnes, E. T. Furlong, M. T. Meyer, S.D. Zaugg, L. B. Barber, M.E. ThurmanA national reconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States - I) Groundwater
As part of the continuing effort to collect baseline information on the environmental occurrence of pharmaceuticals, and other organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs) in the Nation's water resources, water samples were collected from a network of 47 groundwater sites across 18 states in 2000. All samples collected were analyzed for 65 OWCs representing a wide variety of uses and origins. Site selecAuthorsK.K. Barnes, D.W. Kolpin, E. T. Furlong, S.D. Zaugg, M. T. Meyer, L. B. BarberBioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals and other anthropogenic waste indicators in earthworms from agricultural soil amended with biosolid or swine manure
Analysis of earthworms offers potential for assessing the transfer of organic anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs) derived from land-applied biosolid or manure to biota. Earthworms and soil samples were collected from three Midwest agricultural fields to measure the presence and potential for transfer of 77 AWIs from land-applied biosolids and livestock manure to earthworms. The sites consisted oAuthorsC.A. Kinney, E. T. Furlong, D.W. Kolpin, M.R. Burkhardt, S.D. Zaugg, S.L. Werner, J.P. Bossio, M.J. BenottiPotential for 4-n-nonylphenol biodegradation in stream sediments
The potential for in situ biodegradation of 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) was investigated in three hydrologically distinct streams impacted by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the United States. Microcosms were prepared with sediments from each site and amended with [U-ring-14C]4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP) as a model test substrate. Microcosms prepared with sediment collected upstream of the WWTP outfalAuthorsP. M. Bradley, L. B. Barber, D.W. Kolpin, P. B. McMahon, F. H. ChapelleIs there a risk associated with the insect repellent DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) commonly found in aquatic environments?
DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) is the active ingredient of most commercial insect repellents. This compound has commonly been detected in aquatic water samples from around the world indicating that DEET is both mobile and persistent, despite earlier assumptions that DEET was unlikely to enter aquatic ecosystems. DEET's registration category does not require an ecological risk assessment, thus infoAuthorsS.D. Costanzo, A.J. Watkinson, E.J. Murby, Dana W. Kolpin, Mark W. SandstromEffects of sorbate speciation on sorption of selected sulfonamides in three loamy soils
Sorption of sulfamethazine (SMN) and sulfathiazole (STZ) was investigated in three soils, a North Carolina loamy sand, an Iowa sandy loam, and a Missouri loam, under various pH conditions. A significant increase in the sorption coefficient (KD) was observed in all three soils, as the sulfonamides converted from an anionic form at higher pH to a neutral/cationic form at lower pH. Above pH 7.5, sulfAuthorsSudarshan T. Kurwadkar, Craig D. Adams, Michael T. Meyer, Dana W. KolpinBiotransformation of caffeine, cotinine, and nicotine in stream sediments: Implications for use as wastewater indicators
Microbially catalyzed cleavage of the imadazole ring of caffeine was observed in stream sediments collected upstream and downstream of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in three geographically separate stream systems. Microbial demethylation of the N-methyl component of cotinine and its metabolic precursor, nicotine, also was observed in these sediments. These findings indicate that strAuthorsPaul M. Bradley, Larry B. Barber, Dana W. Kolpin, Peter B. McMahon, Francis H. Chapelle - News