Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Endocrine-disrupting activity of hydraulic fracturing chemicals and adverse health outcomes after prenatal exposure in male mice
Oil and natural gas operations have been shown to contaminate surface and ground water with endocrine-disrupting chemicals. In the current study, we fill several gaps in our understanding of the potential environmental impacts related to this process. We measured the endocrine-disrupting activities of 24 chemicals used and/or produced by oil and gas operations for five nuclear receptors using a re
Authors
Christopher D. Kassotis, Kara C. Klemp, Danh C. Vu, Chung-Ho Lin, Chun-Xia Meng, Cynthia L. Besch-Williford, Lisa Pinatti, R. Thomas Zoeller, Erma Z. Drobnis, Victoria D. Balise, Chiamaka J. Isiguzo, Michelle A. Williams, Donald E. Tillitt, Susan C. Nagel
Relating subsurface temperature changes to microbial activity at a crude oil-contaminated site
Crude oil at a spill site near Bemidji, Minnesota has been undergoing aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation for over 30 years, creating a 150–200 m plume of primary and secondary contaminants. Microbial degradation generates heat that should be measurable under the right conditions. To measure this heat, thermistors were installed in wells in the saturated zone and in water-filled monitoring tubes
Authors
Ean Warren, Barbara A. Bekins
Wild bird surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 in North America
It is unknown how the current Asian origin highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses arrived, but these viruses are now poised to become endemic in North America. Wild birds harbor these viruses and have dispersed them at regional scales. What is unclear is how the viruses may be moving from the wild bird reservoir into poultry holdings. Active surveillance of live wild birds is likely the best
Authors
Paul L. Flint, John M. Pearce, J. Christian Franson, Dirk V. Derksen
Landfill leachate as a mirror of today's disposable society: Pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern in final leachate from landfills in the conterminous United States
Final leachates (leachate after storage or treatment processes) from 22 landfills in 12 states were analyzed for 190 pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), which were detected in every sample, with the number of CECs ranging from 1 to 58 (median = 22). In total, 101 different CECs were detected in leachate samples, including 43 prescription pharmaceuticals, 22 industria
Authors
Jason R. Masoner, Dana W. Kolpin, Edward T. Furlong, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, James L. Gray
Rates of As and trace-element mobilization caused by Fe reduction in mixed BTEX–ethanol experimental plumes
Biodegradation of organic matter, including petroleum-based fuels and biofuels, can create undesired secondary water-quality effects. Trace elements, especially arsenic (As), have strong adsorption affinities for Fe(III) (oxyhydr)-oxides and can be released to groundwater during Fe-reducing biodegradation. We investigated the mobilization of naturally occurring As, cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), and
Authors
Brady A. Ziegler, Jennifer T. McGuire, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
Impact of wastewater infrastructure upgrades on the urban water cycle: Reduction in halogenated reaction byproducts following conversion from chlorine gas to ultraviolet light disinfection
The municipal wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) infrastructure of the United States is being upgraded to expand capacity and improve treatment, which provides opportunities to assess the impact of full-scale operational changes on water quality. Many WWTFs disinfect their effluent prior to discharge using chlorine gas, which reacts with natural and synthetic organic matter to form halogenated d
Authors
Larry B. Barber, Michelle Hladik, Alan M. Vajda, Kevin C. Fitzgerald, Chris Douville
Role of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) in nitrogen removal from a freshwater aquifer
Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) couples the oxidation of ammonium with the reduction of nitrite, producing N2. The presence and activity of anammox bacteria in groundwater were investigated at multiple locations in an aquifer variably affected by a large, wastewater-derived contaminant plume. Anammox bacteria were detected at all locations tested using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantific
Authors
Richard L. Smith, John Karl Böhlke, B. Song, C. Tobias
Developing analytical approaches to explore the connection between endocrine-active pharmaceuticals in water to effects in fish
The emphasis of this research project was to develop and optimize a solid-phase extraction method and highperformance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionizationmass spectrometry method, such that a linkage between the detection of endocrine-active pharmaceuticals (EAPs) in the aquatic environment and subsequent effects on fish populations could eventually be studied. Four EAPs were studied: tam
Authors
Tammy L. Jones-Lepp, Randi L. Taniguchi-Fu, Jade Morgan, Trevor Nance Jr., Matthew Ward, David A. Alvarez, Lesley Mills
Importance of the colmation layer in the transport and removal of cyanobacteria, viruses, and dissolved organic carbon during natural lake-bank filtration
This study focused on the importance of the colmation layer in the removal of cyanobacteria, viruses, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during natural bank filtration. Injection-and-recovery studies were performed at two shallow (0.5 m deep), sandy, near-shore sites at the southern end of Ashumet Pond, a waste-impacted, kettle pond on Cape Cod, MA, that is subject to periodic blooms of cyanobacte
Authors
Ronald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Denis R. LeBlanc, Jennifer C. Underwood, George R. Aiken, Kenna D. Butler, Timothy D. McCobb, Jay Jasperse
Molecular tracing of confiscated pangolin scales for conservation and illegal trade monitoring in Southeast Asia
Despite being protected by both international and national regulations, pangolins are threatened by illegal trade. Here we report mitochondrial DNA identification and haplotype richness estimation, using 239 pangolin scale samples from two confiscations in Hong Kong. We found a total of 13 genetically distinct cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) haplotypes in two confiscations (13 and ten haplotypes resp
Authors
Huarong Zhang, Mark P. Miller, Feng Yang, Hon Ki Chan, Philippe Gaubert, Gary Ades, Gunter A. Fischer
Investigating the temporal effects of metal-based coagulants to remove mercury from solution in the presence of dissolved organic matter
The presence of mercury (Hg), particularly methylmercury (MeHg), is a concern for both human and ecological health as MeHg is a neurotoxin and can bioaccumulate to lethal levels in upper trophic level organisms. Recent research has demonstrated that coagulation with metal-based salts can effectively remove both inorganic mercury (IHg) and MeHg from solution through association with dissolved organ
Authors
Yumiko K. Henneberry, Tamara E. C. Kraus, David P. Krabbenhoft, William R. Horwath
Phylogenetic and pathogenic characterization of novel adenoviruses from long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis)
Novel adenoviruses were isolated from a long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) mortality event near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in 2000. The long-tailed duck adenovirus genome was approximately 27 kb. A 907 bp hexon gene segment was used to design primers specific for the long-tailed duck adenovirus. Nineteen isolates were phylogenetically characterized based on portions of their hexon gene and 12 were most
Authors
Katrina Counihan, Lee Skerratt, J. Christian Franson, Tuula E. Hollmen