Emerging Contaminants In the Environment
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"Emerging contaminants" can be broadly defined as
any synthetic or naturally occurring chemical or any microorganism that is
not commonly monitored in the environment but has the potential to enter the
environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological and(or) human
health effects. In some cases, release of emerging chemical or microbial
contaminants to the environment has likely occurred for a long time, but may
not have been recognized until new detection methods were
developed. In other cases, synthesis of new chemicals or changes in use and
disposal of existing chemicals can create new sources of emerging
contaminants.
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Research is documenting with increasing frequency that many chemical and microbial constituents that
have not historically been considered as contaminants are present in the environment on a global
scale. These "emerging contaminants" are commonly derived from municipal, agricultural,
and industrial wastewater sources and pathways. These newly recognized contaminants represent a
shift in traditional thinking as many are produced industrially yet are dispersed to the environment
from domestic, commercial, and industrial uses.
The major goal of the Emerging Contaminants Project is to
provide information on these compounds for evaluation of their potential threat to environmental and
human health. To accomplish this goal, the
research activities of this
project are to: (1) develop analytical methods to measure chemicals and
microorganisms or their genes in a variety of matrices (e.g. water, sediment, waste) down to trace
levels, (2) determine the environmental occurrence of these potential contaminants,
(3) characterize the myriad of sources and source pathways that determine
contaminant release to the environment, (4) define and quantify processes that determine their
transport and fate through the environment, and (5) identify potential
ecologic effects from exposure to these chemicals or microorganisms. Project
research on emerging contaminants is being conducted within these five areas. The following links
provide more detailed information.
- Analytical Methods Development
- Environmental Occurrence
- Sources and Source Pathways
- Transport and Fate
- Ecological Effects
Emerging Contaminant Headlines
Meetings and Conferences
New Publications
Upcoming Publications
- Fate of consumer product chemicals in the subsurface environment--25 Years of research on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA: Barber, L.B., in Hill, M.C., ed., Groundwater Quality 2007--Securing Groundwater Quality in Urban and Industrial Environments: International Association of Hydrological Sciences IAHS Redbook (IN PRESS).
- Subsurface fate and transport of 4-nonylphenol, 17Β-estradiol, and sulfamethoxazole: Barber, L.B., Meyer, M.T., LeBlanc, D.R., Kolpin, D.W., Bradley, P.M., Chapelle, F.H., and Rubio, F., in Hill, M.C., ed., Groundwater Quality 2007--Securing Groundwater Quality in Urban and Industrial Environments: International Association of Hydrological Sciences IAHS Redbook (IN PRESS).
Newly Published
- A national reconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States--I. Groundwater: Barnes, K.K., Kolpin, D.W., Furlong, E.T., Zaugg, S.D., Meyer, M.T., and Barber, L.B., 2008, Science of the Total Environment, v. 402, no. 2-3, p. 192-200, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.04.028.
- A national reconnaissance for pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States--II. Untreated drinking water sources: Focazio, M.J., Kolpin, D.W., Barnes, K.K., Furlong, E.T., Meyer, M.T., Zaugg, S.D., Barber, L.B., and Thurman, E.M., 2008, Science of the Total Environment, v. 402, no. 2-3, p. 201-216, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.02.021.
- Chemical contaminants, health indicators, and reproductive biomarker responses in fish from rivers in the Southeastern United States: Hinck, J., Blazer, V., Denslow, N., Echols, K., Gale, R., Wieser, C., May, T., Ellersieck, M., Coyle, J., and Tillitt, D., 2008, Science of the Total Environment, v. 390, no. 2-3, p. 538-557, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.10.026.
- Utilization of protein expression profiles as indicators of environmental impairment of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Shenandoah River, Virginia, USA: Ripley, J., Iwanowicz, L., Blazer, V., and Foran, C., 2008, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, v. 27, no. 8, p. 1756-1767, doi:10.1897/07-588.1.
- Determination of human-health pharmaceuticals in filtered water by chemically modified styrene-divinylbenzene resin-based solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry: Furlong, E.T., Werner, S.L., Anderson, B.D., and Cahill, J.D., 2008, U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods book 5, sec. B, chap. B5, 56 p.
- Reproductive disruption in fish downstream from an estrogenic wastewater effluent: Vajda, A.M., Barber, L.B., Gray, J.L., Lopez, E.M., Woodling, J.D., and Norris, D.O., 2008, Environmental Science and Technology, doi:10.1021/es0720661 (Advanced Web release).
- Trace analysis of trimethoprim and sulfonamide, macrolide, quinolone, and tetracycline antibiotics in chlorinated drinking water using liquid chromotagrphy electrospray tandem mass spectrometry: Ye, Z., Weinberg, H.S., and Meyer, M.T., 2007, Analytical Chemistry, v. 79, no. 3, p. 1135-1144, doi:10.1021/ac060972a.
- Trace analysis of antidepressant pharmaceuticals and their select degradates in aquatic matrixes by LC/ESI/MS/MS: Schultz, M.M., and Furlong, E.T., 2008, Analytical Chemistry, v. 80, no. 5, p. 1756-1762, doi:10.1021/ac702154e.
- Effects of ionic strength, temperature, and pH on degradation of selected antibiotics: Loftin, K.A., Adams, C.D., and Meyer, M.T., 2008, Journal of Environmental Quality, v. 37, no. 2, p. 378-386, doi:10.2134/jeq2007.0230.
- Potential for 4-n-nonylphenol biodegradation in stream sediments: Bradley, P.M., Barber, L.B., Kolpin, D.W., McMahon, P.B., and Chapelle, F.H., 2008, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, v. 27, p. 260-265, doi:10.1897/07-333.
- Bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals and other anthropogenic waste indicators in earthworms from agricultural soil amended with biosolid or swine manure: Kinney, C.A., Furlong, E.T., Kolpin, D.W., Burkhardt, M.R., Zaugg, S.D., Werner, S.L., Bossio, J.P., and Benotti, M.J., 2008, Environmental Science and Technology, doi:10.1021/es702304c (Advanced Web release).
- Environmental presence and persistence of pharmaceuticals--An overview: Glassmeyer, S., Kolpin, D.W., Furlong, E.T., and Focazio, M.T., 2008 in Aga, D.S., ed., Fate of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment and in Water Treatment Systems, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Books, p. 3-51, ISBN:9781420052329.
- Impairment of the reproductive potential of male fathead minnows by environmentally relevant exposures to 4-nonylphenol: Schoenfuss, H.L., Bartell, S.E., Bistodeau, T.B., Cediel, R.A., Grove, K.J., Zintek, L., Lee, K.E., and Barber, L.B., 2008, Aquatic Toxicology, v. 86, no. 1, p. 91-98, doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2007.10.004.
- Environmental presence and persistence of pharmaceuticals--An overview: Glassmeyer, S., Kolpin, D.W., Furlong, E.T., and Focazio, M.T., 2008 in Aga, D.S., ed., Fate of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment and in Water Treatment Systems, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Books, p. 3-51, ISBN:9781420052329.
Select Information on Emerging Contaminant Research Outside the Toxic Substances Hydrology
Program
- Endocrine Disruptor Research,
Contaminant Biology Program, USGS
- Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Pharmaceuticals and
Personal Care Products (PPCPs) as Environmental Pollutants, National Exposure Research Laboratory,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Pharmaceuticals in the Environment, Information for
Assessing Risk (PEIAR) Project, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Antibiotic/Antimicrobial
Resistance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Materials of Emerging Regulatory Interest Team
(MERIT), Emerging Contaminants Directorate, Department of Defense (The official DoD source
for emerging contaminants information)
- EU-Project Poseidon, Assessment of
Technologies for the Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Sewage and
Drinking Water Facilities to Improve the Indirect Potable Water Reuse, European Union
- Environmental Risk Assessment of
Veterinary Medicines in Sludge (ERAVMIS), International Office for Water
More Information
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