Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team
PFAS in Cape Cod Groundwater.
Fate, Occurrence, and Biological Effects
PFAS and other Contaminants
in the Potomac River Watershed
Water Reuse and Associated Contaminants
are studied in the Upper Colorado River and other locations.
About the Research.
The Biologically Active Chemicals Research Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program conducts field and laboratory research on the occurrence, fate, and effects of complex mixtures of biologically active organic and inorganic chemicals in aquatic environments.
The primary focus of the Biologically Active Chemicals Research CTT is 1) water reuse, 2) the associated introduction of chemical contaminants into surface water and groundwater, and 3) potential biological effects.
- Field investigations into contaminant occurrence and exposure pathways in surface water and groundwater are being conducted across the Nation in a variety of hydrologic environments including the Upper Colorado River basin, the Rio Grande River basin, the Illinois River basin, the Potomac River basin, the Chesapeake Bay, Cape Cod, and the Hawaiian Islands. Water-quality study designs include longitudinal surveys, time-of-travel investigations, time-series analysis, and tracer tests.
- These water-quality investigations involve comprehensive and contemporaneous analysis of complex chemical mixtures including contaminant chemicals of emerging concern (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, trace elements) using multiple chemical and physical measurement techniques.
- Water-quality analysis methods include: bulk chemical property characterization for organic carbon, nutrients, and optical properties (absorbance and fluorescence), trace-organic chemical analysis by gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MSMS), trace-organic chemical screening by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), major-ion analysis by inductively-coupled plasma/optical emission spectrometry (ICP/OES) and ion chromatography, and trace-element analysis by inductively-coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP/MS).
- Field-based experiments using on-site mobile laboratory protocols to characterize biological effects and bioconcentration from exposure to complex chemical mixtures present in surface water and groundwater.
- Application of in-situ technology, including multi-probe fluorimeters and molecular imprinted polymer/electroanalytical microsensors, for real-time and continuous measurement of contaminants such a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and optical brighteners.
- Basin-scale water quality characterization and risk assessment using a combined approach involving application of hydrological, geospatial, and statistical models to predict environmental concentrations and risk in conjunction with discrete sampling and direct chemical measurements.
Key Chemical Analysis Capabilities
A wide range of biologically active trace organic constituents (including pharmaceuticals, consumer products, pesticides, hormones, sterols, and sugars) are typically measured as part of the comprehensive water analyses conducted, which also includes field parameters, nutrients, organic carbon, major ions, trace elements, and biological impact assessments.
Analytical Chemistry Capabilities and Instrumentation
- Quantitative, high resolution gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) used for trace analysis of emerging contaminants, both nonpolar and polar (after chemical derivatization steps)
- Extraction equipment for a variety of matrices (aqueous, sediment, tissue)
- Characterization of total and dissolved aquatic and sediment organic carbon
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for high-throughput aqueous and tissue analysis of priority contaminants
- Major and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and ICP-MS, and ion chromatography (IC)
- Custom method development
- Mobile field contaminant-exposure laboratory
- Whole organism, cellular, and molecular bioassays
- Geographic Information System analyses of exposure pathways
USGS Science Team Collaborators
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Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Integrated Science Team
Increasing scientific and public awareness of the widespread distribution of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in U.S. drinking-water supplies, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, wildlife, and humans has raised many public health and resource management questions that U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) science can inform. The USGS Environmental Health Program's PFAS Integrated Science Team...Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Science Team
The team studies toxicants and pathogens in water resources from their sources, through watersheds, aquifers, and infrastructure to human and wildlife exposures. That information is used to develop decision tools that protect human and wildlife health.Minerals Science Team
The Minerals Integrated Science Team focuses on contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from mineral resource activities including, transportation, storage, extraction and waste management. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are identified the science produced by this team can inform how to...
-
Proxies Project
The Proxies Project is a series of studies to improve our understanding of water contaminants and water quality hazards. These studies develop models and technical approaches for estimating concentrations and assessing risk associated with: - harmful algal blooms (HABs) - per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - 12 elements of concern (EoC)
Science activities related to the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team can be found below.
Unique Approach to Measure Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Uptake in Fish, Mussels, and Passive Samplers
Integrated Assessments of Potential Risks to Aquatic Organisms and Public Water Supply from Wastewater-Derived Chemical Mixtures in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Refined Model Provides a Screening Tool to Understand Exposure to Contaminants from Incidental Wastewater Reuse
Long-Term Study Finds Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Urban Waterways
Data related to the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team can be found below.
Upper Colorado River Basin Accumulated Wastewater Ratios
Water quality and contaminants in stream surface waters collected in the Shenandoah Valley, 2021
Uptake of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances by Fish, Mussel, and Passive Samplers in Mobile Laboratory Exposures using Groundwater from a Contamination Plume at a Historical Fire Training Area, Cape Cod, Massachusetts - Chemical and Biological Data from
Potomac River Watershed Accumulated Wastewater Ratios and Predicted Environmental Concentrations
Concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and related chemical and physical data at and near surface-water/groundwater boundaries on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-19
Shenandoah River Accumulated Wastewater Ratio
Chemical Data From 40 Years of Monitoring a Treated-Wastewater Groundwater Plume in a Sand and Gravel Aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1978-2018
Assessment of Endocrine Disruption in the Shenandoah River Watershed - Chemical and Biological Data from Mobile Laboratory Fish Exposures and Other Experiments Conducted during 2014, 2015, and 2016
Concentrations and associated method information for trace and major elements in Fourmile Creek near Ankeny, Iowa, USA during the 2011-2014 wastewater treatment facility pre/post-closure assessment
Survey of major and trace elements in stormwater runoff from across the United States, 2016 to 2017
Laboratory results for anthropogenic bioactive chemicals in the Illinois Waterway upstream and downstream of the bigheaded carp population front (2015)
Major, trace, and rare earth element concentration measured in water samples collected during the September 2013 Colorado South Platte River flood
Scientific publications related to the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team can be found below.
Assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water resources of New Mexico, 2020–21
Multi-omic responses of fish exposed to complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River watershed
Utilizing anthropogenic compounds and geochemical tracers to identify preferential structurally controlled groundwater pathways influencing springs in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
Uptake of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances by fish, mussel, and passive samplers in mobile laboratory exposures using groundwater from a contamination plume at a historical fire training area, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Wastewater reuse and predicted ecological risk posed by contaminant mixtures in Potomac River watershed streams
Watershed-scale risk to aquatic organisms from complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River
Surface-water/groundwater boundaries affect seasonal PFAS concentrations and PFAA precursor transformations
Elevated concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking-water supplies are a major concern for human health. It is therefore essential to understand factors that affect PFAS concentrations in surface water and groundwater and the transformation of perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursors that degrade into terminal compounds. Surface-water/groundwater exchange can occur along
Temporal variations of de facto wastewater reuse and disinfection by-products in public water systems in the Shenandoah River watershed, USA
Evaluating the potential role of bioactive chemicals on the distribution of invasive Asian carp upstream and downstream from river mile 278 in the Illinois waterway
Urban stormwater: An overlooked pathway of extensive mixed contaminants to surface and groundwaters in the United States
De facto reuse and disinfection by-products in drinking water systems in the Shenandoah River watershed
Integrated assessment of wastewater reuse, exposure risk, and fish endocrine disruption in the Shenandoah River watershed
Web tools related to the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team can be found below.
Interactive Map: Potomac Wastewater Mapper
The Potomac Wastewater Mapper is intended to help identify streams with elevated wastewater conditions or predicted ecological risk posed by municipal effluent-derived wastewater mixtures that may require further attention by resource managers, either through targeted contaminant monitoring and sampling or wastewater treatment plant upgrades to improve contaminant removal.
External partners that the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team collaborates with are linked below.
About the Research.
The Biologically Active Chemicals Research Core Technology Team (CTT) as part of the Environmental Health Program conducts field and laboratory research on the occurrence, fate, and effects of complex mixtures of biologically active organic and inorganic chemicals in aquatic environments.
The primary focus of the Biologically Active Chemicals Research CTT is 1) water reuse, 2) the associated introduction of chemical contaminants into surface water and groundwater, and 3) potential biological effects.
- Field investigations into contaminant occurrence and exposure pathways in surface water and groundwater are being conducted across the Nation in a variety of hydrologic environments including the Upper Colorado River basin, the Rio Grande River basin, the Illinois River basin, the Potomac River basin, the Chesapeake Bay, Cape Cod, and the Hawaiian Islands. Water-quality study designs include longitudinal surveys, time-of-travel investigations, time-series analysis, and tracer tests.
- These water-quality investigations involve comprehensive and contemporaneous analysis of complex chemical mixtures including contaminant chemicals of emerging concern (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, trace elements) using multiple chemical and physical measurement techniques.
- Water-quality analysis methods include: bulk chemical property characterization for organic carbon, nutrients, and optical properties (absorbance and fluorescence), trace-organic chemical analysis by gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MSMS), trace-organic chemical screening by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), major-ion analysis by inductively-coupled plasma/optical emission spectrometry (ICP/OES) and ion chromatography, and trace-element analysis by inductively-coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP/MS).
- Field-based experiments using on-site mobile laboratory protocols to characterize biological effects and bioconcentration from exposure to complex chemical mixtures present in surface water and groundwater.
- Application of in-situ technology, including multi-probe fluorimeters and molecular imprinted polymer/electroanalytical microsensors, for real-time and continuous measurement of contaminants such a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and optical brighteners.
- Basin-scale water quality characterization and risk assessment using a combined approach involving application of hydrological, geospatial, and statistical models to predict environmental concentrations and risk in conjunction with discrete sampling and direct chemical measurements.
Key Chemical Analysis Capabilities
A wide range of biologically active trace organic constituents (including pharmaceuticals, consumer products, pesticides, hormones, sterols, and sugars) are typically measured as part of the comprehensive water analyses conducted, which also includes field parameters, nutrients, organic carbon, major ions, trace elements, and biological impact assessments.
Analytical Chemistry Capabilities and Instrumentation
- Quantitative, high resolution gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) used for trace analysis of emerging contaminants, both nonpolar and polar (after chemical derivatization steps)
- Extraction equipment for a variety of matrices (aqueous, sediment, tissue)
- Characterization of total and dissolved aquatic and sediment organic carbon
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for high-throughput aqueous and tissue analysis of priority contaminants
- Major and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and ICP-MS, and ion chromatography (IC)
- Custom method development
- Mobile field contaminant-exposure laboratory
- Whole organism, cellular, and molecular bioassays
- Geographic Information System analyses of exposure pathways
USGS Science Team Collaborators
-
Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Integrated Science Team
Increasing scientific and public awareness of the widespread distribution of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in U.S. drinking-water supplies, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, wildlife, and humans has raised many public health and resource management questions that U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) science can inform. The USGS Environmental Health Program's PFAS Integrated Science Team...Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Science Team
The team studies toxicants and pathogens in water resources from their sources, through watersheds, aquifers, and infrastructure to human and wildlife exposures. That information is used to develop decision tools that protect human and wildlife health.Minerals Science Team
The Minerals Integrated Science Team focuses on contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from mineral resource activities including, transportation, storage, extraction and waste management. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are identified the science produced by this team can inform how to...
-
Proxies Project
The Proxies Project is a series of studies to improve our understanding of water contaminants and water quality hazards. These studies develop models and technical approaches for estimating concentrations and assessing risk associated with: - harmful algal blooms (HABs) - per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - 12 elements of concern (EoC)
Science activities related to the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team can be found below.
Unique Approach to Measure Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Uptake in Fish, Mussels, and Passive Samplers
Integrated Assessments of Potential Risks to Aquatic Organisms and Public Water Supply from Wastewater-Derived Chemical Mixtures in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Refined Model Provides a Screening Tool to Understand Exposure to Contaminants from Incidental Wastewater Reuse
Long-Term Study Finds Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Urban Waterways
Data related to the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team can be found below.
Upper Colorado River Basin Accumulated Wastewater Ratios
Water quality and contaminants in stream surface waters collected in the Shenandoah Valley, 2021
Uptake of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances by Fish, Mussel, and Passive Samplers in Mobile Laboratory Exposures using Groundwater from a Contamination Plume at a Historical Fire Training Area, Cape Cod, Massachusetts - Chemical and Biological Data from
Potomac River Watershed Accumulated Wastewater Ratios and Predicted Environmental Concentrations
Concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and related chemical and physical data at and near surface-water/groundwater boundaries on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-19
Shenandoah River Accumulated Wastewater Ratio
Chemical Data From 40 Years of Monitoring a Treated-Wastewater Groundwater Plume in a Sand and Gravel Aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1978-2018
Assessment of Endocrine Disruption in the Shenandoah River Watershed - Chemical and Biological Data from Mobile Laboratory Fish Exposures and Other Experiments Conducted during 2014, 2015, and 2016
Concentrations and associated method information for trace and major elements in Fourmile Creek near Ankeny, Iowa, USA during the 2011-2014 wastewater treatment facility pre/post-closure assessment
Survey of major and trace elements in stormwater runoff from across the United States, 2016 to 2017
Laboratory results for anthropogenic bioactive chemicals in the Illinois Waterway upstream and downstream of the bigheaded carp population front (2015)
Major, trace, and rare earth element concentration measured in water samples collected during the September 2013 Colorado South Platte River flood
Scientific publications related to the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team can be found below.
Assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water resources of New Mexico, 2020–21
Multi-omic responses of fish exposed to complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River watershed
Utilizing anthropogenic compounds and geochemical tracers to identify preferential structurally controlled groundwater pathways influencing springs in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
Uptake of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances by fish, mussel, and passive samplers in mobile laboratory exposures using groundwater from a contamination plume at a historical fire training area, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Wastewater reuse and predicted ecological risk posed by contaminant mixtures in Potomac River watershed streams
Watershed-scale risk to aquatic organisms from complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River
Surface-water/groundwater boundaries affect seasonal PFAS concentrations and PFAA precursor transformations
Elevated concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking-water supplies are a major concern for human health. It is therefore essential to understand factors that affect PFAS concentrations in surface water and groundwater and the transformation of perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursors that degrade into terminal compounds. Surface-water/groundwater exchange can occur along
Temporal variations of de facto wastewater reuse and disinfection by-products in public water systems in the Shenandoah River watershed, USA
Evaluating the potential role of bioactive chemicals on the distribution of invasive Asian carp upstream and downstream from river mile 278 in the Illinois waterway
Urban stormwater: An overlooked pathway of extensive mixed contaminants to surface and groundwaters in the United States
De facto reuse and disinfection by-products in drinking water systems in the Shenandoah River watershed
Integrated assessment of wastewater reuse, exposure risk, and fish endocrine disruption in the Shenandoah River watershed
Web tools related to the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team can be found below.
Interactive Map: Potomac Wastewater Mapper
The Potomac Wastewater Mapper is intended to help identify streams with elevated wastewater conditions or predicted ecological risk posed by municipal effluent-derived wastewater mixtures that may require further attention by resource managers, either through targeted contaminant monitoring and sampling or wastewater treatment plant upgrades to improve contaminant removal.
External partners that the Biologically Active Chemical Research Core Technology Team collaborates with are linked below.