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Toxic Substances Hydrology Program

The Toxic Substances Hydrology Program provides objective scientific information on environmental contamination to improve characterization and management of contaminated sites, to protect human and environmental health, and to reduce potential future contamination problems. Read more about the Toxics Program

Recent Headlines
Research Projects
USGS scientist measuring pH and other water properties on the banks of Fourmile Creek, Iowa, before collecting a sediment sample for laboratory biodegradation experiments.

Report cover image

Scientist collected earthworms from a soybean field fertilized with biosolids. The earthworms were analyzed for 77 different chemicals; 20 chemicals were detected in the earthworms.

USGS scientist preparing a submersible instrument package that is used to collect water-quality data on the San Francisco Bay, Calif., during a cruise of the USGS Research Vessel Polaris. The instrument includes sensors for measuring depth, conductivity, temperature, suspended solids, chlorophyll, light penetration, and dissolved oxygen
Climate-Driven Ocean Changes Affect Estuaries: Pacific Ocean Cooling Triggers Phytoplankton Blooms in San Francisco Bay

USGS scientist collecting water-quality samples during a hydrogen-consuming, push-pull injection test at the Norman Municipal Landfill Research Site, Okla. The test is used to determine what microbiological processes are active in the subsurface at ground-water contamination sites.

USGS scientist collecting water-quality samples during a hydrogen-consuming, push-pull injection test at the Norman Municipal Landfill Research Site, Okla. The test is used to determine what microbiological processes are active in the subsurface at ground-water contamination sites.

   
     
   
Crosscutting Topics
   
     
   
Photo Gallery
   

Preparing a water-quality meter to measure field -- See full caption below
Preparing a water-quality meter to measure field parameters (pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and specific conductance) of waters in the Okefenokee Swamp, GA (circa 2002) -- from the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (AMRI) Photo Gallery

New Publications
   
Meetings

Selected New Publications
A national reconnaissance of 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.

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.

Understanding the occurrence and transport of current-use pesticides in the San Francisco Estuary watershed: Kuivila, K.M., and Hladik, M.L., 2008, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, v. 6, no. 3, Article 2.

Upcoming Publications
Comparison of wastewater chemicals, bacteria concentrations, and bacterial pathogen genes as indicators of fecal pollution: Haack, S.K., Duris, J.W., Fogarty, L.R., Kolpin, D.W., Focazio, M.J., Meyer, M.T., and Furlong, E.T., Journal of Environmental Quality (IN PRESS).

Transport of tritium contamination from the shallow unsaturated zone to the atmosphere in an arid environment: Garcia, C.A., Andraski, B.J., Stonestrom, D.A., Cooper, C.A., Johnson, M.J., Michel, R.L., and Wheatcraft, S.W., Vadose Zone Journal (IN PRESS).

Understanding the occurrence and transport of current-use pesticides in the San Francisco Estuary Watershed: Kuivila, K.M., and Hladik, M.L., San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (IN PRESS).

   

USGS and Colorado State University co-sponsor EmCon2009-2nd International Conference on Occurrence, Fate, Effects, and Analysis of Emerging Contaminants in the Environment, Fort Collins, Colorado, August 4-7, 2009

USGS is co-sponsoring the short course Environmental Fate and Effects of Emerging Contaminants at the SETAC North America 29th Annual Meeting, Tampa, Florida, November 16-20, 2008

USGS and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are cosponsoring the special session A Celebration of Soil Science, Solute Transport, and National-Scale Water-Quality Research: In Honor of Jacob Rubin at the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting, Houston, Texas, October 5-9, 2008

USGS and EPA host the USGS/EPA Workshop on Transport and Remediation of Chlorinated Solvents in Fractured Sedimentary Rocks, West Trenton, New Jersey, September 25, 2008

USGS co-sponsor the special session Characterizing Ground-Water Flow and Chemical Transport in Fractured-Rock Aquifers at the 2008 Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting in Cairns, Australia, on July 29-August 1, 2008

USGS and Virginia Tech present the NGWA's short course "Estimating Times of Remediation Associated with Monitored Natural Attenuation and Contaminant Source Removal," Tucson, Ariz., March 17-18, 2008

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