Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Integrated Science Team
The Team Studies PFAS in Drinking Water
Near Known or Suspected Sources of PFAS
The Team Develops Advanced Methods to Measure PFAS
Measurements are Made in Water, Sediment, Tissue, Plasma, and Passive Samplers
The Team Studies PFAS Transport and Fate in the Environment
The Team Studies Exposure and Effects of PFASs on Wildlife
Near Known or Suspected Sources of PFAS
The Team Studies PFASs in Plasma and Tissue
of Fish and Wildlife Near Known or Suspected Sources of PFAS
Video Presenting the USGS Laboratory for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Located at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center
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 focuses their research on building analytical capacity to measure PFAS and determining the exposure to and potential effects of PFAS mixtures on ecosystems, and the services they provide. The team collaborates with external partners to accomplish their goals.
Associated research shown below.
Data releases listed in this section
Related publications listed below.
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
Geochemical and hydrologic factors controlling subsurface transport of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Growing evidence that certain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are associated with negative human health effects prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue lifetime drinking water health advisories for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in 2016. Given that groundwater is a major source of drinking water, the main objective of this work was
Spatial and temporal patterns in concentrations of perfluorinated compounds in bald eagle nestlings in the Upper Midwestern United States
Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are of concern due to their widespread use, persistence in the environment, tendency to accumulate in animal tissues, and growing evidence of toxicity. Between 2006 and 2011 we collected blood plasma from 261 bald eagle nestlings in six study areas from the upper Midwestern United States. Samples were assessed for levels of 16 different PFCs. We used regression anal
Perfluorinated compound concentrations in great blue heron eggs near St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, in 1993 and 2010-2011
A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) colony on Pig's Eye Island on the Mississippi River near St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, is located near several potential perfluorinated compound (PFC) sources. The PFC concentrations in great blue heron eggs reported from a 1993 collection from the Pig's Eye colony were among the highest measured in bird eggs worldwide. The objective of this investigation was to det
Exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl compounds on tree swallows nesting at Lake Johanna in east central Minnesota, USA
Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) samples were collected at a reference lake and a nearby lake (Lake Johanna) in east central Minnesota, USA contaminated with perfluorinated carboxylic and sulfonic acids. Tissues were analyzed for a suite of 13 perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) to quantify exposure and to determine if there was an association between egg concentrations of PFCs and reproductive succ
Association between perfluorinated compounds and pathological conditions in southern sea otters
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 focuses their research on building analytical capacity to measure PFAS and determining the exposure to and potential effects of PFAS mixtures on ecosystems, and the services they provide. The team collaborates with external partners to accomplish their goals.
Associated research shown below.
Data releases listed in this section
Related publications listed below.
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
Geochemical and hydrologic factors controlling subsurface transport of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Growing evidence that certain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are associated with negative human health effects prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue lifetime drinking water health advisories for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in 2016. Given that groundwater is a major source of drinking water, the main objective of this work was
Spatial and temporal patterns in concentrations of perfluorinated compounds in bald eagle nestlings in the Upper Midwestern United States
Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are of concern due to their widespread use, persistence in the environment, tendency to accumulate in animal tissues, and growing evidence of toxicity. Between 2006 and 2011 we collected blood plasma from 261 bald eagle nestlings in six study areas from the upper Midwestern United States. Samples were assessed for levels of 16 different PFCs. We used regression anal
Perfluorinated compound concentrations in great blue heron eggs near St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, in 1993 and 2010-2011
A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) colony on Pig's Eye Island on the Mississippi River near St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, is located near several potential perfluorinated compound (PFC) sources. The PFC concentrations in great blue heron eggs reported from a 1993 collection from the Pig's Eye colony were among the highest measured in bird eggs worldwide. The objective of this investigation was to det
Exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl compounds on tree swallows nesting at Lake Johanna in east central Minnesota, USA
Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) samples were collected at a reference lake and a nearby lake (Lake Johanna) in east central Minnesota, USA contaminated with perfluorinated carboxylic and sulfonic acids. Tissues were analyzed for a suite of 13 perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) to quantify exposure and to determine if there was an association between egg concentrations of PFCs and reproductive succ