Contaminants can be chemical or biological and represent major stressors to ecosystems, including human and wildlife populations. Chemical contaminants include those purposefully released into the environment (for example, pesticides) and those that are inadvertently released (for example, mining waste). Biological contaminants can harm our food, water or environment with microorganisms (for example, fungus, bacteria, virus). USGS scientists are helping to understand potential environmental and health hazards posed by chemical and biological contaminants. We study the connections between air, water, soil, and living things to identify the environmental pathways that expose humans and wildlife to contaminants.
Environmental Health Program
Contaminants and Pathogens
Emerging Contaminants
Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
USGS Contaminants Science
Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Environment
Chemical Mixtures and Environmental Effects
New Sediment-Toxicity Benchmarks Available for Pesticides in Whole Sediment
Landfill Leachate Released to Wastewater Treatment Plants and other Environmental Pathways Contains a Mixture of Contaminants including Pharmaceuticals
Environmental Contaminants and Beak Deformities in Alaskan Chickadees
First National-Scale Reconnaissance of Neonicotinoid Insecticides in United States Streams
Pesticides, Flame Retardants, and Mercury in Tissues from Columbia Basin Pacific Lamprey
Groundwater Quality in Principal Aquifers of the United States, 1991—2010
Common Weed Killer is Widespread in the Environment
Pesticides Common in California Estuary
Pesticides Found in Amphibians from Remote Areas in California
Contaminants Affect Fish and Wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay
Contaminants can be chemical or biological and represent major stressors to ecosystems, including human and wildlife populations. Chemical contaminants include those purposefully released into the environment (for example, pesticides) and those that are inadvertently released (for example, mining waste). Biological contaminants can harm our food, water or environment with microorganisms (for example, fungus, bacteria, virus). USGS scientists are helping to understand potential environmental and health hazards posed by chemical and biological contaminants. We study the connections between air, water, soil, and living things to identify the environmental pathways that expose humans and wildlife to contaminants.