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Publications

Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).

Filter Total Items: 4094

Contamination of shallow ground water in the area of building 95, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, 1985-90

A zone of contaminated ground water at Picatinny Arsenal has resulted from the operation of a metal- plating facility in building 95 during 1960-81, and the wastewater-treatment system that is in and adjacent to the building. Thirty-two monitoring wells were installed in 1989 to supplement 12 previously installed wells. All wells were sampled in 1989 and 1990 for analysis of ground water for inorg
Authors
B. P. Sargent, D. A. Storck

Degradation of trifluoroacetate in oxic and anoxic sediments

THE deleterious effect of chlorofluorocarbons on stratospheric ozone has led to international cooperation to end their use. The search for acceptable alternatives has focused on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) which are attractive because they have relatively short atmospheric residence times. HFCs and HCFCs are attacked by tropospheric hydroxyl radicals, leading to t
Authors
P.T. Visscher, C.W. Culbertson, R.S. Oremland

Specific yield as determined by type-curve analysis of aquifer-test data

The commonly used analytical solution developed by Neuman for a homogeneous, water-table aquifer assumes that the drainage of pores in the zone above the water table due to lowering of the water table occurs instantaneously. Noninstantaneous drainage of pores in the unsaturated zone accounts for the finding that both type-curve analysis and volume-balance calculations yield values of specific yiel
Authors
Allen F. Moench

Ionic strength and DOC determinations from various freshwater sources to the San Francisco Bay

An exact estimation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) within the salinity gradient of zinc and copper metals is significant in understanding the limit to which DOC could influence metal speciation. A low-temperature persulfate/oxygen/ultraviolet wet oxidation procedure was utilized for analyzing DOC samples adapted for ionic strength from major freshwater sources of the northern and southern regio
Authors
Y.R. Hunter, J.S. Kuwabara

The feasibility of recharge rate determinations using the steady-state centrifuge method

The establishment of steady unsaturated flow in a centrifuge permits accurate measurement of small values of hydraulic conductivity (K). This method can provide a recharge determination if it is applied to an unsaturated core sample from a depth at which gravity alone drives the flow. A K value determined at the in situ water content indicates the long-term average recharge rate at a point. Tests
Authors
J. R. Nimmo, David A. Stonestrom, K.C. Akstin

Occurrence and distribution of organochlorine compounds in sediment and livers of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) from the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary

A preliminary assessment was made in 1992 of chlorinated organic compounds in sediments and in livers of striped bass from the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary. Samples of sediment and striped bass livers contained DDT (ethane, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-) and its degradation products, DDD (ethane, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-) and DDE (ethylene, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlor
Authors
W. E. Pereira, F. D. Hostettler, J.R. Cashman, R. S. Nishioka

Intense alpha-particle emitting crystallites in uranium mill wastes

No abstract available. 
Authors
E. R. Landa, L. R. Stieff, M.S. Germani, A.B. Tanner, J.R. Evans

Comparison of humic substances isolated from peatbog water by sorption on DEAE-cellulose and amberlite XAD-2

Aquatic humic substances (AHS) were isolated from peatbog water by adsorption (1) on diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE-C) and (2) on Amberlite XAD-2 (XAD) to compare yields of the methods and the composition of the isolated AHS. To provide a detailed comparison, the isolates were fractionated using size-exclusion and hydrophobic-interaction chromatography on Sephadex G-50. The fractions were chara
Authors
J. Hejzlar, B. Szpakowska, R. L. Wershaw

Use of long-term tritium records from the Colorado River to determine timescales for hydrologic processes associated with irrigation in the Imperial Valley, California

Tritium records were used to study hydrologic processes associated with irrigation and drainage in the Imperial Valley, a 2000-km2 agricultural area in the southeastern California desert. Tritium was analyzed in surface water, ground water, soil-pore water and drain water, and the results were compared to the historical record of tritium in the Colorado River. The Colorado River record was reconst
Authors
Robert L. Michel, R.A. Schoeder

Coupling of hydrologic transport and chemical reactions in a stream affected by acid mine drainage

Experiments in St. Kevin Gulch, an acid mine drainage stream, examined the coupling of hydrologic transport to chemical reactions affecting metal concentrations. Injection of LiCl as a conservative tracer was used to determine discharge and residence time along a 1497-m reach. Transport of metals downstream from inflows of acidic, metal-rich water was evaluated based on synoptic samples of metal c
Authors
B. A. Kimball, R. E. Broshears, K.E. Bencala, Diane M. McKnight

Testing and comparison of four ionic tracers to measure stream flow loss by multiple tracer injection

The ionic tracers lithium, sodium, chloride and bromide were used to measure flow loss in a small stream (≈︁ 10 ls−1). An injectate containing all four tracers was added continuously at five sites along a 507 m study reach of St Kevin Gulch, Lake County, Colorado to determine which sections of the stream were losing water to the stream bed and to ascertain how well the four tracers performed. The
Authors
G. W. Zellweger