Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
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Use of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in petroleum polluted waters
Passive samplers, in particular semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), can be used in monitoring petroleum spills. This document is intended to provide a brief discussion of issues surrounding the use and capabilities of the SPMD.
Authors
David A. Alvarez
Coupled arsenotrophy in a hot spring photosynthetic biofilm at Mono Lake, California
Red-pigmented biofilms grow on rock and cobble surfaces present in anoxic hot springs located on Paoha Island in Mono Lake. The bacterial community was dominated (∼ 85% of 16S rRNA gene clones) by sequences from the photosynthetic Ectothiorhodospiragenus. Scraped biofilm materials incubated under anoxic conditions rapidly oxidized As(III) to As(V) in the light via anoxygenic photosynthesis but cou
Authors
Shelley E. Hoeft, Thomas R. Kulp, Sukkyun Han, Brian Lanoil, Ronald S. Oremland
Pharmaceutical formulation facilities as sources of opioids and other pharmaceuticals to wastewater treatment plant effluents
Facilities involved in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products are an under-investigated source of pharmaceuticals to the environment. Between 2004 and 2009, 35 to 38 effluent samples were collected from each of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in New York and analyzed for seven pharmaceuticals including opioids and muscle relaxants. Two WWTPs (NY2 and NY3) receive substantial flows (>
Authors
Patrick J. Phillips, Steven G. Smith, Dana W. Kolpin, Brooke W. Stinson, Steven D. Zaugg, Herbert T. Buxton, Edward T. Furlong, Kathleen Esposito
Antibiotic fate and transport in three effluent-dominated Ozark streams
Antibiotic transport downstream from a wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge was evaluated along stream reaches on Mud Creek, Spring Creek, and Decatur Branch in northwestern Arkansas, USA. Water and streambed samples were collected during August and September 2006 and analyzed for multiple antibiotics representing five classes (beta-lactams, macrolides, quinolones, sulfonamides, and tetra
Authors
Leslie B. Massey, Brian E. Haggard, Joel M. Galloway, Keith A. Loftin, Michael T. Meyer, W. Reed Green
Identification of a novel arsenite oxidase gene, arxA, in the haloalkaliphilic, arsenite-oxidizing bacterium alkalilimnicola ehrlichii strain MLHE-1
Although arsenic is highly toxic to most organisms, certain prokaryotes are known to grow on and respire toxic metalloids of arsenic (i.e., arsenate and arsenite). Two enzymes are known to be required for this arsenic-based metabolism: (i) the arsenate respiratory reductase (ArrA) and (ii) arsenite oxidase (AoxB). Both catalytic enzymes contain molybdopterin cofactors and form distinct phylogeneti
Authors
Kamrun Zargar, Shelley E. Hoeft, Ronald S. Oremland, Chad W. Saltikov
Effects of upstream dams versus groundwater pumping on stream temperature under varying climate conditions
The relative impact of a large upstream dam versus in‐reach groundwater pumping on stream temperatures was analyzed for humid, semiarid, and arid conditions with long dry seasons to represent typical climate regions where large dams are present, such as the western United States or eastern Australia. Stream temperatures were simulated using the CE‐QUAL‐W2 water quality model over a 110 km model gr
Authors
John C. Risley, Jim Constantz, Hedeff I. Essaid, Stewart A. Rounds
Field note--Successful establishment of a phytoremediation system at a petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated shallow aquifer--Trends, trials, and tribulations
We report the establishment of a mixed hybrid poplar (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.) phytoremediation system at a fuel-contaminated site. Several approaches were used to balance competing goals of cost-effectiveness yet successful tree establishment without artificial irrigation or trenching. Bare root and unrooted cuttings were installed using either: (1) 1.2 m deep holes excavated with an
Authors
Rachel L. Cook, James Landmeyer, Brad Atkinson, Jean-Pierre Messier, Elizabeth Guthrie Nichols
Sources of aerosol nitrate to the Gulf of Aqaba: Evidence from δ15N and δ18O of nitrate and trace metal chemistry
The nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) isotopic composition (δ15N and δ18O) of water soluble aerosol nitrate was measured in aerosol samples collected in Eilat, Israel, from August 2003 to November 2004. During this period δ15N values ranged from − 6.9‰ to + 1.9‰ and δ18O from + 65.1‰ to + 84.9‰ and exhibited strong seasonal variability with higher average δ15N values observed in the summer and higher δ1
Authors
Scott D. Wankel, Ying Chen, Carol Kendall, A.F. Post, Adina Paytan
PHAST version 2-A program for simulating groundwater flow, solute transport, and multicomponent geochemical reactions
The computer program PHAST (PHREEQC And HST3D) simulates multicomponent, reactive solute transport in three-dimensional saturated groundwater flow systems. PHAST is a versatile groundwater flow and solute-transport simulator with capabilities to model a wide range of equilibrium and kinetic geochemical reactions. The flow and transport calculations are based on a modified version of HST3D that is
Authors
David L. Parkhurst, Kenneth L. Kipp, Scott R. Charlton
Microbial oxidation of arsenite in a subarctic environment: diversity of arsenite oxidase genes and identification of a psychrotolerant arsenite oxidiser
Arsenic is toxic to most living cells. The two soluble inorganic forms of arsenic are arsenite (+3) and arsenate (+5), with arsenite the more toxic. Prokaryotic metabolism of arsenic has been reported in both thermal and moderate environments and has been shown to be involved in the redox cycling of arsenic. No arsenic metabolism (either dissimilatory arsenate reduction or arsenite oxidation) has
Authors
Thomas H. Osborne, Heather E. Jamieson, Karen A. Hudson-Edwards, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Stephen R. Walker, Seamus A. Ward, Joanne M. Santini
Productivity, embryo and eggshell characteristics, and contaminants in bald eagles from the Great Lakes, USA, 1986 to 2000
Chlorinated hydrocarbon concentrations in eggs of fish-eating birds from contaminated environments such as the Great Lakes of North America tend to be highly intercorrelated, making it difficult to elucidate mechanisms causing reproductive impairment, and to ascribe cause to specific chemicals. An information- theoretic approach was used on data from 197 salvaged bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephal
Authors
David A. Best, Kyle Elliott, William Bowerman, Mark C. Shieldcastle, Sergej Postupalsky, Timothy J. Kubiak, Donald E. Tillitt, John E. Elliott
A geochemical module for "AMDTreat" to compute caustic quantity, effluent quantity, and sludge volume
Treatment with caustic chemicals typically is used to increase pH and decrease concentrations of dissolved aluminum, iron, and/or manganese in largevolume, metal-laden discharges from active coal mines. Generally, aluminum and iron can be removed effectively at near-neutral pH (6 to 8), whereas active manganese removal requires treatment to alkaline pH (~10). The treatment cost depends on the spec
Authors
Charles A. Cravotta, David L. Parkhurst, Brent P Means, Bob McKenzie, Harry Morris, Bill Arthur