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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: 3746

Analysis and detection of the herbicides dimethenamid and flufenacet and their sulfonic and oxanilic acid degradates in natural water

Dimethenamid [2-chloro-N-(2,4-dimethyl-3-thienyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide] and flufenacet [N-(4-fluorophenyl)-N-(1-methylethyl)-2-(5-(trifluoromethyl)-1,3,4- thiadiazol-2-yl)oxy] were isolated by C-18 solid-phase extraction and separated from their ethanesulfonic acid (ESA) and oxanilic acid (OXA) degradates during their elution using ethyl acetate for the parent compound, followed by
Authors
L.R. Zimmerman, R.J. Schneider, E.M. Thurman

Changes in concentrations of triazine and acetamide herbicides by bank filtration, ozonation, and chlorination in a public water supply

The changes in triazine and acetamide concentrations in water during natural and artificial treatment by bank filtration, ozonation, filtration, and chlorination were measured at the well field and drinking water treatment plant of Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. The city's groundwater supply is affected by induced infiltration and transport of triazines and acetamide herbicides from the Platte River in l
Authors
Ingrid M. Verstraeten, E.M. Thurman, M.E. Lindsey, E.C. Lee, R.D. Smith

Mercury deposition in snow near an industrial emission source in the western U.S. and comparison to ISC3 model predictions

Mercury (total and methyl) was evaluated in snow samples collected near a major mercury emission source on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) insoutheastern Idaho and 160 km downwind in Teton Range in westernWyoming. The sampling was done to assess near-field (<12 km)deposition rates around the source, compare them to those measured in a relatively remote, pristine
Authors
M.L. Abbott, D. D. Susong, D. P. Krabbenhoft, A.S. Rood

Method of analysis and quality-assurance practices by the U.S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group: Determination of geosmin and methylisoborneol in water using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of two common odor-causing compounds in water, geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, was modified and verified by the U.S. Geological Survey's Organic Geochemistry Research Group in Lawrence, Kansas. The optimized method involves the extraction of odor-causing compounds from filtered water samples using a divinylbenzene-carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane cross-link coated solid
Authors
L.R. Zimmerman, A.C. Ziegler, E.M. Thurman

Role of environmental variability in evaluating stressor effects

In this chapter, we discuss how environmental variability affects the exposure of organisms and ecological systems to stressors, and give guidance on how to understand influences of stressors. We consider the characteristics of environmental variability and issues relating to the measurement of environmental variation. We discuss how to select the optimal indicators of ecological response in a var
Authors
Samuel N. Luoma

Benthic flux of dissolved nickel into the water column of south San Francisco Bay

Field and laboratory studies were conducted between April, 1998 and May, 1999 to provide the first direct measurements of the benthic flux of dissolved (0.2-micron filtered) nickel between the bottom sediment and water column at three sites in the southern component of San Francisco Bay (South Bay), California. Dissolved nickel and predominant ligands (represented by dissolved organic carbon, and
Authors
B.R. Topping, J.S. Kuwabara, Francis Parcheso, S.W. Hager, A.J. Arnsberg, Fred Murphy

Method of analysis and quality-assurance practices by the U. S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group—Determination of four selected mosquito insecticides and a synergist in water using liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography/mass

A method of analysis and quality-assurance practices were developed for the determination of four mosquito insecticides (malathion, metho-prene, phenothrin, and resmethrin) and one synergist (piperonyl butoxide) in water. The analytical method uses liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Good precision and accuracy were demonstrated in reagent water, urban
Authors
L.R. Zimmerman, A.P. Strahan, E.M. Thurman

Cross-hole radar scanning of two vertical, permeable, reactive-iron walls at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

A pilot-scale study was conducted by the U.S. Army National Guard (USANG) at the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to assess the use of a hydraulic-fracturing method to create vertical, permeable walls of zero-valent iron to passively remediate ground water contaminated with chlorinated solvents. The study was conducted near the source area of the Chemical Spill-
Authors
John W. Lane, Peter K. Joesten, Jennifer G. Savoie

Impacts of heterogeneous organic matter on phenanthrene sorption--Different soil and sediment samples

Organic petrography has been proposed as a tool for characterizing the heterogeneous organic matter present in soil and sediment samples. A new simplified method is proposed as a quantitative means of interpreting observed sorption behavior for phenanthrene and different soils and sediments based on their organic petrographical characterization. This method is tested under singe solute conditions
Authors
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti, Jeffrey Childs, David A. Sabatini

Natural attenuation strategy for groundwater cleanup focuses on demonstrating cause and effect

In the 20 years since cleanup of contaminated groundwater has been a high priority in the United States, recognition of both the scope of the problem and the technical difficulties involved has grown steadily. Estimates of the number of hazardous waste sites where groundwater may be contaminated vary between 300,000 and 400,000 nationwide [NRC, 1994]. Legislation passed in the 1980s by Congress an
Authors
Barbara A. Bekins, Bruce E. Rittmann, J. A. MacDonald

Quantification of mine-drainage inflows to Little Cottonwood Creek, Utah, using a tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling study

Historic mining in Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah has left behind many mine drainage tunnels that discharge water to Little Cottonwood Creek. To quantify the major sources of mine drainage to the stream, synoptic sampling was conducted during a tracer injection under low flow conditions (September 1998). There were distinct increases in discharge downstream from mine drainage and major tributary
Authors
B. Kimball, R. Runkel, L. Gerner