Dana W Kolpin
Biography
Dana received his B.S. from Iowa State University and his M.S. from the University of Iowa (both in geology). Dana started his career with the USGS in 1986. His research interests include the fate, transport, and effects of environmental contaminants (e.g. pesticides, human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, hormones, etc.) in the environment. He was the project lead of the USGS Toxic Program’s CECs in the Environment Project (https://toxics.usgs.gov/investigations/cec/) for its entire history (1998 – 2017). He 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: https://www2.usgs.gov/envirohealth/science_teams/food/index.php). 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.
Science and Products
Bacterial Pathogen Genes in Streams related to Animal Type and Hydrologic Conditions
A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study elucidates the influence of animal type and environmental variables on bacterial pathogen occurrence in streams under typical watershed conditions.
Distinct Microbiomes Identified in Landfills Throughout the United States
A comprehensive study by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and scientists from the University of Oklahoma finds distinct microbial assemblages (microbiomes) in landfill leachate across the United States and investigates factors related to microbiome formation.
Complex Mixtures, Complex Responses—Using Comprehensive Approaches to Assess Pharmaceutical Effects on Fish
The occurrence of complex mixtures of prescription pharmaceuticals in streams and rivers around the globe has raised concerns about potential unintended adverse effects on aquatic organisms. The deleterious effects (for example, alteration of fish behavior) observed in this study confirm that effluents containing pharmaceuticals can adversely affect fish in ways that are central to sustaining...
Landfill Leachate Released to Wastewater Treatment Plants and other Environmental Pathways Contains a Mixture of Contaminants including Pharmaceuticals
New scientific research from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) details how landfill leachate, disposed from landfills to environmental pathways, is host to numerous contaminants of emerging concern (CECs).
Chlorinated byproducts of neonicotinoids and their metabolites: An unrecognized human exposure potential?
We recently reported the initial discovery of neonicotinoid pesticides in drinking water and their potential for transformation through chlorination and alkaline hydrolysis during water treatment. The objectives of this research were: (1) to determine if neonicotinoid metabolites are relevant to drinking water exposure and (2) to identify the...
Klarich Wong, Kathryn L.; Webb, Danielle T.; Nagorzanski, Matthew R.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Hladik, Michelle L.; Cwiertny, David M.; LeFevre, Gregory H. Fate and transport of nitrapyrin in agroecosystems: Occurrence in agricultural soils, subsurface drains, and receiving streams in the Midwestern US
Nitrapyrin is a nitrification inhibitor that is co-applied with nitrogen fertilizer in agroecosystems. There is limited information on the fate of nitrapyrin after it is applied to agricultural soils. Over the course of one year (March 2016 to June 2017), 192 water samples from seven streams across Iowa and Illinois were analyzed for...
Woodward, Emily; Kolpin, Dana W.; Zheng, Wei; Holm, Nancy L; Meppelink, Shannon M.; Terrio, Paul J.; Hladik, Michelle Contaminants of emerging concern in the environment: Where we have been and what does the future hold?
In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring alerted the nation to the dangers of manmade chemicals and indiscriminate use of pesticides. DDT was the culprit and its use threatened a variety of wildlife, including the national bird, bald eagles. In 1969, pressured by scientists and the public, the United States banned almost all uses of DDT;...
Battaglin, William A.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Furlong, Edward T.; Glassmeyer, Susan; Blackwell, Brett R.; Corsi, Steven; Meyer, Michael T.; Bradley, Paul M. Reconnaissance of mixed organic and inorganic chemicals in private and public supply tapwaters at selected residential and workplace sites in the United States
Safe drinking water at the point-of-use (tapwater, TW) is a United States public health priority. Multiple lines of evidence were used to evaluate potential human health concerns of 482 organics and 19 inorganics in TW from 13 (7 public supply, 6 private well self-supply) home and 12 (public supply) workplace locations in 11 states. Only uranium (...
Bradley, Paul M.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Romanok, Kristin M.; Smalling, Kelly L.; Focazio, Michael J.; Brown, Juliane B.; Cardon, Mary C.; Carpenter, Kurt; Corsi, Steven R.; DeCicco, Laura A.; Dietze, Julie E.; Evans, Nicola; Furlong, Edward T.; Givens, Carrie E.; Gray, James; Griffin, Dale W.; Higgins, Christopher P.; Hladik, Michelle L.; Iwanowicz, Luke R. ; Journey, Celeste A.; Kuivila, Kathryn ; Masoner, Jason R.; McDonough, Carrie A.; Meyer, Michael T.; Orlando, James L.; Strynar, Mark J.; Weis, Christopher P.; Wilson, Vickie S.
Concentrations of lead and other inorganic constituents in samples of raw intake and treated drinking water from the municipal water filtration plant and residential tapwater in Chicago, Illinois, and East Chicago, Indiana, July–December 2017
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Environmental Health Mission Area (EHMA) is providing comprehensive science on sources, movement, and transformation of contaminants and pathogens in watershed and aquifer drinking-water supplies and in built water and wastewater infrastructure (referred to as the USGS Water and Wastewater Infrastructure project)...
Romanok, Kristin M.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Meppelink, Shannon M.; Focazio, Michael J.; Argos, Maria; Hollingsworth, Mary E. ; McCleskey, R. Blaine; Putz, Andrea R.; Stark, Alan ; Weis, Christopher P.; Zehraoui, Abderrahman; Bradley, Paul M.
Methods used for the collection and analysis of chemical and biological data for the Tapwater Exposure Study, United States, 2016–17
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Environmental Health Mission Area, initiated the Tapwater Exposure Study as part of an infrastructure project to assess human exposure to potential threats from complex mixtures of contaminants. In the pilot phase (2016), samples were collected from 11 States throughout the United States, and in the...
Romanok, Kristin M.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Meppelink, Shannon M.; Argos, Maria; Brown, Juliane B.; Devito, Michael J.; Dietze, Julie E.; Givens, Carrie E.; Gray, James L.; Higgins, Christopher P.; Hladik, Michelle L.; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Loftin, Keith A.; McCleskey, R. Blaine; McDonough, Carrie A.; Meyer, Michael T.; Strynar, Mark J.; Weis, Christopher P.; Wilson, Vickie S.; Bradley, Paul M. Temporal and spatial variation in pharmaceutical concentrations in an urban river system
Many studies have quantified pharmaceuticals in the environment, few however, have incorporated detailed temporal and spatial variability due to associated costs in terms of time and materials. Here, we target 33 physico-chemically diverse pharmaceuticals in a spatiotemporal exposure study into the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the wastewater...
Burns, Emily E.; Carter, Laura J.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Thomas-Oates, Jane; Boxall, Alistair B.A. Exposure to human-associated chemical markers of fecal contamination and self-reported illness among swimmers at recreational beaches
Anthropogenic chemicals have been proposed as potential markers of human fecal contamination in recreational water. However, to date, there are no published studies describing their relationships with illness risks. Using a cohort of swimmers at seven U.S. beaches, we examined potential associations between the presence of chemical markers of...
Napier, Melanie D; Poole, Charles; Stewart, Jill R; Weber, David J; Glassmeyer, Susan T.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Furlong, Edward; Dufour, Alfred P; Timothy J. Wade Pharmaceutical manufacturing facility discharges can substantially increase the pharmaceutical load to U.S. wastewaters
Discharges from pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities (PMFs) previously have been identified as important sources of pharmaceuticals to the environment. Yet few studies are available to establish the influence of PMFs on the pharmaceutical source contribution to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and waterways at the national scale....
Scott, Tia-Marie; Phillips, Patrick J.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Colella, Kaitlyn M.; Furlong, Edward T.; Foreman, William T.; Gray, James L. Modeled de facto reuse and contaminants of emerging concern in drinking water source waters
De facto reuse is the percentage of drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) intake potentially composed of effluent discharged from upstream wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Results from grab samples and a De Facto Reuse in our Nation's Consumable Supply (DRINCS) geospatial watershed model were used to quantify contaminants of emerging concern (...
Nguyen, Thuy; Westerhoff, Paul; Furlong, Edward T.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Batt, Angela L.; Mash, Heath E.; Schenck, Kathleen M.; Boone, J. Scott; Rice, Jacelyn; Glassmeyer, Susan T. Year-round presence of neonicotinoid insecticides in tributaries to the Great Lakes, USA
To better characterize the transport of neonicotinoid insecticides to the world's largest freshwater ecosystem, monthly samples (October 2015–September 2016) were collected from 10 major tributaries to the Great Lakes, USA. For the monthly tributary samples, neonicotinoids were detected in every month sampled and five of the six target...
Hladik, Michelle; Corsi, Steven R.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Baldwin, Austin K.; Blackwell, Brett R.; Cavallin, Jenna E. Occurrence of dichloroacetamide herbicide safeners and co-applied herbicides in midwestern U.S. streams
Dichloroacetamide safeners (e.g., AD-67, benoxacor, dichlormid, and furilazole) are co-applied with chloroacetanilide herbicides to protect crops from herbicide toxicity. While such safeners have been used since the early 1970s, there are minimal data about safener usage, occurrence in streams, or potential ecological effects. This study focused...
Woodward, Emily; Hladik, Michelle; Kolpin, Dana W.