David Alvarez, PhD
Dr. Dave Alvarez is a Supervisory Research Chemist at the Columbia Environmental Research Center.
His focus is on the development of innovative methodologies for passive sampler design and complex mixture analysis of various environmental matrices. Research is conducted on emerging and historic contaminants; assessment of the exposure of aquatic and terrestrial organisms and humans to anthropogenic chemicals; and identification of chemicals and their potential sources. The link between chemical occurrence and biological effects are investigated using passive samplers as surrogate biological organisms and screening sampler extracts with in vitro and in vivo tests for estrogenicity, acute toxicity, reproductive and developmental abnormalities. The research is designed to expand the understanding of the roles of physicochemical parameters and environmental factors on the uptake mechanisms of passive samplers. Through our experience and expertise, this research group is recognized as an international leader in the field of passive sampling technologies.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Environmental/Analytical Chemistry, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999
B.S. Chemistry, Missouri Western State College, 1995
Affiliations and Memberships*
2005-present Member, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
1993-present Member, American Chemical Society Environmental Division
1992-present Member, American Chemical Society
Science and Products
Passive Sampling Using SPMDs and POCIS
The application of passive sampling technologies for the monitoring of legacy and emerging organic chemicals in the environment is becoming widely accepted worldwide.
Filter Total Items: 15
Filter Total Items: 15
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 80
Complex mixtures of Pesticides in Midwest U.S. streams indicated by POCIS time-integrating samplers
The Midwest United States is an intensely agricultural region where pesticides in streams pose risks to aquatic biota, but temporal variability in pesticide concentrations makes characterization of their exposure to organisms challenging. To compensate for the effects of temporal variability, we deployed polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) in 100 small streams across the...
Authors
Peter C. Van Metre, David A. Alvarez, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Mark W. Sandstrom, Patrick W. Moran
Acute sensitivity of a broad range of freshwater mussels to chemicals with different modes of toxic action
Freshwater mussels, one of the most imperiled groups of animals in the world, are generally underrepresented in toxicity databases used for the development of ambient water quality criteria and other environmental guidance values. Acute 96-h toxicity tests were conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of 5 species of juvenile mussels from 2 families and 4 tribes to 10 chemicals (ammonia...
Authors
Ning Wang, Chris D. Ivey, Christopher G. Ingersoll, William G. Brumbaugh, David A. Alvarez, Edward J. Hammer, Candice R. Bauer, Tom Augspurger, Sandy Raimondo, Christopher M. Barnhart
Baseline aquatic contamination and endocrine status in a resident fish of Biscayne National Park
Surface water, sediment, and fish from Biscayne Bay, coastal wetlands adjacent to the Bay, and canals discharging into the Bay were sampled for determination of baseline contamination in Biscayne National Park. While the number of contaminants detected in canal waters was greater during the wet season than the dry season, no seasonal difference was evident for Biscayne Bay or coastal...
Authors
Timothy A. Bargar, Kevin R.T. Whelan, David A. Alvarez, Kathy R. Echols, Paul Peterman
Exposure to the contraceptive progestin, gestodene, alters reproductive behavior, arrests egg deposition, and masculinizes development in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Endogenous progestogens and pharmaceutical progestins enter the environment through wastewater treatment plant effluent and agricultural field runoff. Lab studies demonstrate strong, negative exposure effects of these chemicals on aquatic vertebrate reproduction. Behavior can be a sensitive, early indicator of exposure to environmental contaminants associated with altered reproduction...
Authors
Tyler E. Frankel, Michael Frederick Meyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Amanda B. Gillis, David A. Alvarez, Edward F. Orlando
Year-round monitoring of contaminants in Neal and Rogers Creeks, Hood River Basin, Oregon, 2011-12, and assessment of risks to salmonids
Pesticide presence in streams is a potential threat to Endangered Species Act listed salmonids in the Hood River basin, Oregon, a primarily forested and agricultural basin. Two types of passive samplers, polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), were simultaneously deployed at four sites in the basin during Mar. 2011–Mar. 2012 to...
Authors
Whitney B. Temple, Jennifer L. Morace, Elena Nilsen, David A. Alvarez, Kevin Masterson
Synthetic ultraviolet light filtering chemical contamination of coastal waters of Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Contamination of surface waters by synthetic ultraviolet light (UV) filtering chemicals is a concern for the Virgin Islands National Park (VINP). Discrete water samples were collected from VINP bays to determine UV filter chemical presence in the coastal waters. Spatial distribution and the potential for partitioning between subsurface waters and the sea surface microlayer (SML) were...
Authors
Timothy A. Bargar, David A. Alvarez, Virginia H. Garrison
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...
Authors
Tammy L. Jones-Lepp, Randi-Laurant Taniguchi-Fu, Jade Morgan, Trevor Nance Jr., Matthew J. Ward, David A. Alvarez, Lesley Mills
Characterization of Missouri surface waters near point sources of pollution reveals potential novel atmospheric route of exposure for bisphenol A and wastewater hormonal activity pattern
Surface water contamination by chemical pollutants increasingly threatens water quality around the world. Among the many contaminants found in surface water, there is growing concern regarding endocrine disrupting chemicals, based on their ability to interfere with some aspect of hormone action in exposed organisms, including humans. This study assessed water quality at several sites...
Authors
Christopher D. Kassotis, David A. Alvarez, Julia A. Taylor, Frederick S. vom Saal, Susan C. Nagel, Donald E. Tillitt
Reproductive health indicators of fishes from Pennsylvania watersheds: association with chemicals of emerging concern
Fishes were collected at 16 sites within the three major river drainages (Delaware, Susquehanna, and Ohio) of Pennsylvania. Three species were evaluated for biomarkers of estrogenic/antiandrogenic exposure, including plasma vitellogenin and testicular oocytes in male fishes. Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu, white sucker Catostomus commersonii, and redhorse sucker Moxostoma species...
Authors
Vicki S. Blazer, D.D. Iwanowicz, Heather L. Walsh, A.J. Sperry, Luke Iwanowicz, D.A. Alvarez, R.A. Brightbill, G. O. Smith, W.T. Foreman, R. M. Manning
Spatial and temporal trends in occurrence of emerging and legacy contaminants in the Lower Columbia River 2008-2010
The Lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, USA, is an important resource for aquatic and terrestrial organisms, agriculture, and commerce. An 86-mile stretch of the river was sampled over a 3 year period in order to determine the spatial and temporal trends in the occurrence and concentration of water-borne organic contaminants. Sampling occurred at 10 sites along this stretch...
Authors
David A. Alvarez, Stephanie D. Perkins, Elena Nilsen, Jennifer L. Morace
Occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern along the California coast (2009-10) using passive sampling devices
Three passive sampling devices (PSDs), polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), polyethylene devices (PEDs), and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) samplers were used to sample a diverse set of chemicals in the coastal waters of San Francisco Bay and the Southern California Bight. Seventy one chemicals (including fragrances, phosphate flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, PAHs...
Authors
David A. Alvarez, Keith A. Maruya, Nathan G. Dodder, Wenjian Lao, Edward Furlong, Kelly Smalling
Time-integrated passive sampling as a complement to conventional point-in-time sampling for investigating drinking-water quality, McKenzie River Basin, Oregon, 2007 and 2010-11
The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) supplies drinking water to approximately 200,000 people in Eugene, Oregon. The sole source of this water is the McKenzie River, which has consistently excellent water quality relative to established drinking-water standards. To ensure that this quality is maintained as land use in the source basin changes and water demands increase, EWEB has...
Authors
Kathleen A. McCarthy, David A. Alvarez
Science and Products
Passive Sampling Using SPMDs and POCIS
The application of passive sampling technologies for the monitoring of legacy and emerging organic chemicals in the environment is becoming widely accepted worldwide.
Filter Total Items: 15
Filter Total Items: 15
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 80
Complex mixtures of Pesticides in Midwest U.S. streams indicated by POCIS time-integrating samplers
The Midwest United States is an intensely agricultural region where pesticides in streams pose risks to aquatic biota, but temporal variability in pesticide concentrations makes characterization of their exposure to organisms challenging. To compensate for the effects of temporal variability, we deployed polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) in 100 small streams across the...
Authors
Peter C. Van Metre, David A. Alvarez, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Mark W. Sandstrom, Patrick W. Moran
Acute sensitivity of a broad range of freshwater mussels to chemicals with different modes of toxic action
Freshwater mussels, one of the most imperiled groups of animals in the world, are generally underrepresented in toxicity databases used for the development of ambient water quality criteria and other environmental guidance values. Acute 96-h toxicity tests were conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of 5 species of juvenile mussels from 2 families and 4 tribes to 10 chemicals (ammonia...
Authors
Ning Wang, Chris D. Ivey, Christopher G. Ingersoll, William G. Brumbaugh, David A. Alvarez, Edward J. Hammer, Candice R. Bauer, Tom Augspurger, Sandy Raimondo, Christopher M. Barnhart
Baseline aquatic contamination and endocrine status in a resident fish of Biscayne National Park
Surface water, sediment, and fish from Biscayne Bay, coastal wetlands adjacent to the Bay, and canals discharging into the Bay were sampled for determination of baseline contamination in Biscayne National Park. While the number of contaminants detected in canal waters was greater during the wet season than the dry season, no seasonal difference was evident for Biscayne Bay or coastal...
Authors
Timothy A. Bargar, Kevin R.T. Whelan, David A. Alvarez, Kathy R. Echols, Paul Peterman
Exposure to the contraceptive progestin, gestodene, alters reproductive behavior, arrests egg deposition, and masculinizes development in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Endogenous progestogens and pharmaceutical progestins enter the environment through wastewater treatment plant effluent and agricultural field runoff. Lab studies demonstrate strong, negative exposure effects of these chemicals on aquatic vertebrate reproduction. Behavior can be a sensitive, early indicator of exposure to environmental contaminants associated with altered reproduction...
Authors
Tyler E. Frankel, Michael Frederick Meyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Amanda B. Gillis, David A. Alvarez, Edward F. Orlando
Year-round monitoring of contaminants in Neal and Rogers Creeks, Hood River Basin, Oregon, 2011-12, and assessment of risks to salmonids
Pesticide presence in streams is a potential threat to Endangered Species Act listed salmonids in the Hood River basin, Oregon, a primarily forested and agricultural basin. Two types of passive samplers, polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), were simultaneously deployed at four sites in the basin during Mar. 2011–Mar. 2012 to...
Authors
Whitney B. Temple, Jennifer L. Morace, Elena Nilsen, David A. Alvarez, Kevin Masterson
Synthetic ultraviolet light filtering chemical contamination of coastal waters of Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Contamination of surface waters by synthetic ultraviolet light (UV) filtering chemicals is a concern for the Virgin Islands National Park (VINP). Discrete water samples were collected from VINP bays to determine UV filter chemical presence in the coastal waters. Spatial distribution and the potential for partitioning between subsurface waters and the sea surface microlayer (SML) were...
Authors
Timothy A. Bargar, David A. Alvarez, Virginia H. Garrison
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...
Authors
Tammy L. Jones-Lepp, Randi-Laurant Taniguchi-Fu, Jade Morgan, Trevor Nance Jr., Matthew J. Ward, David A. Alvarez, Lesley Mills
Characterization of Missouri surface waters near point sources of pollution reveals potential novel atmospheric route of exposure for bisphenol A and wastewater hormonal activity pattern
Surface water contamination by chemical pollutants increasingly threatens water quality around the world. Among the many contaminants found in surface water, there is growing concern regarding endocrine disrupting chemicals, based on their ability to interfere with some aspect of hormone action in exposed organisms, including humans. This study assessed water quality at several sites...
Authors
Christopher D. Kassotis, David A. Alvarez, Julia A. Taylor, Frederick S. vom Saal, Susan C. Nagel, Donald E. Tillitt
Reproductive health indicators of fishes from Pennsylvania watersheds: association with chemicals of emerging concern
Fishes were collected at 16 sites within the three major river drainages (Delaware, Susquehanna, and Ohio) of Pennsylvania. Three species were evaluated for biomarkers of estrogenic/antiandrogenic exposure, including plasma vitellogenin and testicular oocytes in male fishes. Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu, white sucker Catostomus commersonii, and redhorse sucker Moxostoma species...
Authors
Vicki S. Blazer, D.D. Iwanowicz, Heather L. Walsh, A.J. Sperry, Luke Iwanowicz, D.A. Alvarez, R.A. Brightbill, G. O. Smith, W.T. Foreman, R. M. Manning
Spatial and temporal trends in occurrence of emerging and legacy contaminants in the Lower Columbia River 2008-2010
The Lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, USA, is an important resource for aquatic and terrestrial organisms, agriculture, and commerce. An 86-mile stretch of the river was sampled over a 3 year period in order to determine the spatial and temporal trends in the occurrence and concentration of water-borne organic contaminants. Sampling occurred at 10 sites along this stretch...
Authors
David A. Alvarez, Stephanie D. Perkins, Elena Nilsen, Jennifer L. Morace
Occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern along the California coast (2009-10) using passive sampling devices
Three passive sampling devices (PSDs), polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), polyethylene devices (PEDs), and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) samplers were used to sample a diverse set of chemicals in the coastal waters of San Francisco Bay and the Southern California Bight. Seventy one chemicals (including fragrances, phosphate flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, PAHs...
Authors
David A. Alvarez, Keith A. Maruya, Nathan G. Dodder, Wenjian Lao, Edward Furlong, Kelly Smalling
Time-integrated passive sampling as a complement to conventional point-in-time sampling for investigating drinking-water quality, McKenzie River Basin, Oregon, 2007 and 2010-11
The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) supplies drinking water to approximately 200,000 people in Eugene, Oregon. The sole source of this water is the McKenzie River, which has consistently excellent water quality relative to established drinking-water standards. To ensure that this quality is maintained as land use in the source basin changes and water demands increase, EWEB has...
Authors
Kathleen A. McCarthy, David A. Alvarez
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government