Sampling in the Animas River, Colorado
The Minerals Integrated Science Team focuses on contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from mineral resource activities including, transportation, storage, extraction and waste management. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are identified the science produced by this team can inform how to economically and effectively minimize exposures by providing scientific data and understandings about the environmental transport, fate, and exposure pathways of contaminants.
Mineral mining is an essential part of a healthy economy. U.S. mines produced an estimated $75.2 billion in nonfuel minerals during 2017 including industrial minerals, aggregates, and metals. The mining industry and government regulators work together to prevent the release of contaminants such as metals into the environment from mining activities.
![Colored pencil illustration of a spiral showing the stages of mineral production lifecycle](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/half_width/public/media/images/mine.lifecycle.siebers.jpg?itok=vZDdlbqX)
The USGS Minerals Integrated Science Team (IST), a part of the Environmental Health Program, in the Ecosystems Mission Area focuses on the lifecycle of metals and radionuclides in the environment to inform best management practices for waste materials associated with mineral extraction including transportation, storage, recycling of materials, and other activities where there are perceived or actual hazards from contaminant exposures originating from mineral resource activities.
The team works to distinguish naturally sourced toxicants in the environment from those that may originate from mineral resource activities. They use this information to understand fish, wildlife, and human exposure and to determine If their are health risks upon exposure. If health risks are identified, this Team will inform how to economically and effectively minimize risk by providing scientific data and understandings about the environmental transport, fate, and exposure pathways of contaminants. The team also directly addresses the 2012 DOI Record of Decision to understand actual versus perceived risks due to uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region. Much of this work is driven by concerns over potential mining impacts to the Grand Canyon, its natural resources, and Tribal members.
Research is accomplished at a range of scales, including laboratory-based studies, modeling, and targeted field studies in watersheds across the Nation to collectively deliver science on exposures and risks to wildlife, humans, ecosystems, and water resources. The team is unique in that it bring together geologists, hydrologists, biologists, chemists, microbiologists, ecologists, toxicologists, and geophysicists from across USGS to address this science.
The team provides science to support the utilization and protection of our Nation’s resources.
- Identify hydrologic, geochemical and biological processes that govern the source, transport, and fate of metals and radionuclides as determinants of ecosystem health
- Characterize the geochemical and biological processes governing the environmental fate, exposure, bioaccumulation, and effects of metals to reduce uncertainty and to inform risk assessment
- Characterize transport pathways of mining-related contaminants in abiotic and biotic media to improve understanding of exposure pathways and biological effects of uranium and co-occurring elements related to uranium mines in the Grand Canyon watershed.
- Develop methods and execute a geo-environmental assessment of developing undiscovered uranium deposits in the Texas Gulf coast uranium province
- Investigate multi-metal exposures, critical minerals, and multi-stressor effects on ecosystems influenced by mineral resource extraction and processing
The following are the data releases from this science team’s research activities.
Data for assessment of the containment pond at Canyon Mine, 2017-2018
Surface Materials Data from Breccia-Pipe Uranium Mine and Reference Sites, Arizona, USA
Chemistry data for assessment of the containment pond at Canyon Mine, Arizona 2017
Behavioral Effects of Copper on Larval White Sturgeon
Histopathological assessment of the digestive gland of a freshwater snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) exposed to uranium
Results from radiochemical analyses of small rodent whole bodies collected from breccia pipe uranium mines and reference locations in the Grand Canyon watershed.
Below are publications associated with this science team.
Sensitivity of warm water fishes and rainbow trout to selected contaminants
Draft genome sequence of the Mn(II)-oxidizing bacterium Oxalobacteraceae sp. AB_14
Competitive interactions among H, CU, and Zn ion moderate aqueous uptake of Cu and Zn by an aquatic insect
Influence of dissolved organic carbon on the acute toxicity of copper and zinc to White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and a Cladoceran (Ceriodaphnia dubia)
Toward sustainable environmental quality: Priority research questions for North America
Three-layered silver nanoparticles to trace dissolution and association to a green alga
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2016 through September 2017) and statistical summaries of data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Toxicity of aluminum to Ceriodaphnia dubia in low-hardness waters as affected by natural dissolved organic matter
Biota dose assessment of small rodents sampled near breccia pipe uranium mines in the Grand Canyon watershed
Improved enrichment factor calculations through principal component analysis: Examples from soils near breccia pipe uranium mines, Arizona, USA
Identifying natural and anthropogenic variability of uranium at the well scale, Homestake Superfund site, near Milan, New Mexico, USA
Behavioral effects of copper on larval white sturgeon
The Minerals Integrated Science Team focuses on contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from mineral resource activities including, transportation, storage, extraction and waste management. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are identified the science produced by this team can inform how to economically and effectively minimize exposures by providing scientific data and understandings about the environmental transport, fate, and exposure pathways of contaminants.
Mineral mining is an essential part of a healthy economy. U.S. mines produced an estimated $75.2 billion in nonfuel minerals during 2017 including industrial minerals, aggregates, and metals. The mining industry and government regulators work together to prevent the release of contaminants such as metals into the environment from mining activities.
![Colored pencil illustration of a spiral showing the stages of mineral production lifecycle](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/half_width/public/media/images/mine.lifecycle.siebers.jpg?itok=vZDdlbqX)
The USGS Minerals Integrated Science Team (IST), a part of the Environmental Health Program, in the Ecosystems Mission Area focuses on the lifecycle of metals and radionuclides in the environment to inform best management practices for waste materials associated with mineral extraction including transportation, storage, recycling of materials, and other activities where there are perceived or actual hazards from contaminant exposures originating from mineral resource activities.
The team works to distinguish naturally sourced toxicants in the environment from those that may originate from mineral resource activities. They use this information to understand fish, wildlife, and human exposure and to determine If their are health risks upon exposure. If health risks are identified, this Team will inform how to economically and effectively minimize risk by providing scientific data and understandings about the environmental transport, fate, and exposure pathways of contaminants. The team also directly addresses the 2012 DOI Record of Decision to understand actual versus perceived risks due to uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region. Much of this work is driven by concerns over potential mining impacts to the Grand Canyon, its natural resources, and Tribal members.
Research is accomplished at a range of scales, including laboratory-based studies, modeling, and targeted field studies in watersheds across the Nation to collectively deliver science on exposures and risks to wildlife, humans, ecosystems, and water resources. The team is unique in that it bring together geologists, hydrologists, biologists, chemists, microbiologists, ecologists, toxicologists, and geophysicists from across USGS to address this science.
The team provides science to support the utilization and protection of our Nation’s resources.
- Identify hydrologic, geochemical and biological processes that govern the source, transport, and fate of metals and radionuclides as determinants of ecosystem health
- Characterize the geochemical and biological processes governing the environmental fate, exposure, bioaccumulation, and effects of metals to reduce uncertainty and to inform risk assessment
- Characterize transport pathways of mining-related contaminants in abiotic and biotic media to improve understanding of exposure pathways and biological effects of uranium and co-occurring elements related to uranium mines in the Grand Canyon watershed.
- Develop methods and execute a geo-environmental assessment of developing undiscovered uranium deposits in the Texas Gulf coast uranium province
- Investigate multi-metal exposures, critical minerals, and multi-stressor effects on ecosystems influenced by mineral resource extraction and processing
The following are the data releases from this science team’s research activities.
Data for assessment of the containment pond at Canyon Mine, 2017-2018
Surface Materials Data from Breccia-Pipe Uranium Mine and Reference Sites, Arizona, USA
Chemistry data for assessment of the containment pond at Canyon Mine, Arizona 2017
Behavioral Effects of Copper on Larval White Sturgeon
Histopathological assessment of the digestive gland of a freshwater snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) exposed to uranium
Results from radiochemical analyses of small rodent whole bodies collected from breccia pipe uranium mines and reference locations in the Grand Canyon watershed.
Below are publications associated with this science team.