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.

1. Analytical Methods Development
2. Environmental Occurrence
3. Sources and Source Pathways
4. Transport and Fate
5. Ecological Effects

Emerging Contaminant Headlines

• Detergents in Streams May Just Disappear
• Emerging Contaminants Targeted in a Reconnaissance of Ground Water and Untreated Drinking-Water Sources
• Biosolids, Animal Manure, and Earthworms: Is There a Connection?
• Wastewater Indicators Shown to Degrade in Streams
• Endocrine Disruption Found in Fish Exposed to Municipal Wastewater
• Household Chemicals and Drugs Found in Biosolids from Wastewater Treatment Plants
• Pharmaceuticals Found in Soil Irrigated with Reclaimed Water
• Are Pharmaceuticals in Your Watershed? Understanding the Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Other Contaminants in Watersheds
• Book Chapter on Exposure Modeling and Monitoring of Human Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
• Does NDMA Biodegrade at Ground-Water Recharge Facilities?
• Glyphosate Found in Wastewater Discharged to Streams
• Tracing Wastewater - Using Unique Compounds to Identify Sources of Contamination
• USGS Scientists Contribute to New Book on Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
• USGS Scientists Develop New Method to Measure Pharmaceuticals in Water
• Developing Methods to Measure New Contaminants in Aquatic Environments
• Veterinary Medicines in the Environment
• Glyphosate Herbicide Found in Many Midwestern Streams, Antibiotics Not Common
• National Reconnaissance of Pharmaceuticals, Hormones and Other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in U.S. Streams is Making an Impact
• "National Reconnaissance of Pharmaceuticals, Hormones, and Other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in Streams" Named as One of the Top 100 Science Stories of the Year
• What's in Our Wastewaters and Where Does it Go?

Meetings and Conferences

• 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

New Publications

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).
• Wastewater effluent, combined sewer overflows, and other sources of organic compounds to Lake Champlain: Phillips, P.J., and Chalmers, A.T., Journal of the American Water Works Association (IN PRESS).
• 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--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.
• 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, v. 42, no. 6, p. 1863-1870, doi:10.1021/es702304c.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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

• Project Bibliography
• Emerging Contaminants Research Topic Bibliographies (Sub sets of the above bibliography)
• Analytical Methods Development
• Environmental Occurrence Studies
• Sources and Source Pathways Studies
• Transport and Fate Studies
• Ecological Effects Studies
• Abstracts from Selected Meetings/Conferences
• Project Photo Gallery
• Project contact: Dana Kolpin.