Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Nitrifying microorganisms linked to biotransformation of perfluoroalkyl sulfonamido precursors from legacy aqueous film forming foams
Drinking water supplies across the United States have been contaminated by firefighting and fire-training activities that use aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Much of the AFFF is manufactured using electrochemical fluorination by 3M. Precursors with six perfluorinated carbons (C6) and non-fluorinated amine substituents make up approximately o
Authors
Bridger J. Ruyle, Lara Schultes, Denise M. Akob, Cassandra Rashan Harris, Michelle Lorah, Simon Vojta, Jitka Becanova, Shelly McCann, Heidi M. Pickard, Ann Pearson, Rainer Lohmann, Chad D. Vecitis, Elsie M. Sunderland
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
Aqueous film-forming foams historically were used during fire training activities on Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and created an extensive per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) groundwater contamination plume. The potential for PFAS bioconcentration from exposure to the contaminated groundwater, which discharges to surface water bodies, was assessed with mobile-laboratory experiments u
Authors
Larry B. Barber, Heidi M. Pickard, David Alvarez, Jitka Becanova, Steffanie H. Keefe, Denis R. LeBlanc, Rainer Lohmann, Jeffery Steevens, Alan M. Vajda
Tracking status and trends in seven key indicators of stream health in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
“The Bay Connects us, the Bay reflects us” writes Tom Horton in the book “Turning the Tide—Saving the Chesapeake Bay”. The Chesapeake Bay watershed contains the largest estuary in the United States. The watershed stretches north to Cooperstown, New York, south to Lynchburg and Virginia Beach, Virginia, west to Pendleton County, West Virginia, and east to Seaford, Delaware, and Scranton, Pennsylvan
Authors
Samuel H. Austin, Matthew Joseph Cashman, John W. Clune, James E. Colgin, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Kevin P. Krause, Emily Majcher, Kelly O. Maloney, Chris A. Mason, Doug L. Moyer, Tammy M. Zimmerman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center
The influence of short-term temporal variability on the efficacy of dragonfly larvae as mercury biosentinels
Mercury (Hg) exposure to fish, wildlife, and humans is widespread and of global concern, thus stimulating efforts to reduce emissions. Because the relationships between rates of inorganic Hg loading, methylmercury (MeHg) production, and bioaccumulation are extremely complex and challenging to predict, there is a need for reliable biosentinels to understand the distribution of Hg in the environment
Authors
James Willacker, Collin Eagles-Smith, Sarah J. Nelson, Colleen M. Flanagan-Pritz, David P. Krabbenhoft
Contaminant exposure and transport from three potential reuse waters within a single watershed
Global demand for safe and sustainable water supplies necessitates a better understanding of contaminant exposures in potential reuse waters. In this study, we compared exposures and load contributions to surface water from the discharge of three reuse waters (wastewater effluent, urban stormwater, and agricultural runoff). Results document substantial and varying organic-chemical contribution to
Authors
Jason R. Masoner, Dana W. Kolpin, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Paul M. Bradley, Brian Arnall, Kenneth J. Forshay, James L. Gray, Justin F. Groves, Michelle Hladik, Laura E. Hubbard, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Jeanne B. Jaeschke, Rachael F. Lane, R. Blaine McCleskey, Bridgette F. Polite, David A. Roth, Michael Pettijohn, Michaelah C. Wilson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, California Water Science Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Reston Biogeochemical Processes in Groundwater Laboratory
Grass carp reproduction in small tributaries of Truman Reservoir, Missouri: Implications for establishment in novel habitats
Substantial work has been conducted to estimate the river length required for recruitment of invasive Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella and bigheaded carps (Bighead Carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and Silver Carp H. molitrix); however, the distance upstream and size of stream required for spawning remain unclear. Adult Grass Carp are regularly captured in Harry S. Truman Reservoir, Missouri, alth
Authors
Cari-Ann Hayer, Michael F. Bayless, Cathy A. Richter, Amy E. George, Duane Chapman
Comparison of two estrogen chemically activated luciferase expression cell bioassays to liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry for quantifying estrone in water samples
Chemically activated luciferase expression (CALUX) cell bioassays are popular tools for assessing endocrine activity of chemicals such as certain environmental contaminants. Although activity equivalents can be obtained from CALUX analysis, directly comparing these equivalents to those obtained from analytical chemistry methods can be problematic because of the complexity of endocrine active pathw
Authors
Jennifer C. Brennan, Abigail Henke, Robert Gale, Diane K. Nicks, Donald Tillitt
Acetylenotrophic and diazotrophic Bradyrhizobium sp. strain I71 from TCE-contaminated soils
AbstractAcetylene (C2H2) is a molecule rarely found in nature, with very few known natural sources, but acetylenotrophic microorganisms can use acetylene as their primary carbon and energy source. As of 2018 there were 15 known strains of aerobic and anaerobic acetylenotrophs; however, we hypothesize there may yet be unrecognized diversity of acetylenotrophs in nature. This study expands the known
Authors
Denise M. Akob, John M. Sutton, Timothy J. Bushman, Shaun Baesman, Edina Klein, Yesha Shrestha, Robert Andrews, Janna L. Fierst, Max Kolton, Sara Gushgari-Doyle, Ronald Oremland, John Freeman
Using biological responses to monitor freshwater post-spill conditions over 3 years in Blacktail Creek, North Dakota, USA
A pipeline carrying unconventional oil and gas (OG) wastewater spilled approximately 11 million liters of wastewater into Blacktail Creek, North Dakota, USA. Flow of the mix of stream water and wastewater down the channel resulted in storage of contaminants in the hyporheic zone and along the banks, providing a long-term source of wastewater constituents to the stream. A multi-level investigation
Authors
Aida Farag, David Harper, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Douglas B. Kent, Adam Mumford, Denise M. Akob, Travis W. Schaeffer, Luke R. Iwanowicz
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Eastern Ecological Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Reston Microbiology Laboratory
Microbial community response to a bioaugmentation test to degrade trichloroethylene in a fractured rock aquifer, Trenton, N.J
Bioaugmentation is a promising strategy for enhancing trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation in fractured rock. However, slow or incomplete biodegradation can lead to stalling at degradation byproducts such as 1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). Over the course of 7 years, we examined the response of groundwater microbial populations in a bioaugmentation test where an emulsified veg
Authors
Jennifer C. Underwood, Denise M. Akob, Michelle Lorah, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Ronald W. Harvey, Claire R. Tiedeman
Understanding the evolution of groundwater-contaminant plume chemistry emanating from legacy contaminant sources: An example from a long-term crude oil spill
Understanding the evolution of plumes emanating from residual hydrocarbon contaminant sources requires evaluating how changes in source compositions over time cause changes in dissolved plume chemistry as residual sources age. This study investigates such changes at the site of a 1979 crude-oil pipeline spill and is the first comprehensive look at groundwater chemistry associated with a residual h
Authors
Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Mary Jo Baedecker, Adam Mumford, Jeanne B. Jaeschke, Tracey Spencer
Characterization of the partial oxidation products of crude oil contaminating groundwater at the U.S. Geological Survey Bemidji research site in Minnesota by elemental analysis, radiocarbon dating, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and Fourier tran
In oil spill research, a topic of increasing attention during the last decade has been the environmental impact of the partial oxidation products that result from transformation of the petroleum in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. This report describes the isolation and characterization of the partial oxidation products from crude oil contaminating groundwater at the long-term U.S.
Authors
Kevin A. Thorn, Ananna Islam, Sunghwan Kim