The first step in the road to understanding the fate of a contaminant is determining if
contamination is actually taking place.
Emerging Chemical Contaminants
An important component of emerging contaminant research is to determine the environmental occurrence by answering the fundamental questions: What compounds enter the environment? How often and at what levels do they occur? In what mixtures do they occur?
These questions are addressed by field reconnaissance studies at national, regional, and local scales.
- National-scale research
- Local-, State-, and Regional-scale research
Emerging Microbial Contaminants
There is no question that bacterial pathogens, viruses, and protozoa, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria can enter the environment. The source of these contaminants is generally fecal contamination through release of human and animal wastes to the environment. However, little is known about the actual occurrence of specific microbial pathogens in the environment, or their relation to traditional microbiological water quality criteria. This project investigates the occurrence of selected bacterial pathogens in water at the national and watershed scales, determines their potential for virulence and antibiotic resistance by examining the occurrence of genes for these traits, and relates findings to microbial water quality criteria and to chemical measures of water quality, including the occurrence of emerging chemical contaminants.
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More Information
New Publications
- The occurrence of antibiotics in an urban watershed--From wastewater to drinking water: Watkinson, A.J., Murby, E.J., Kolpin, D.W., and Costanzo, S.D., 2009, Science of the Total Environment, v. 407, no. 8, p. 2,711-2,723, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.11.059.
- Waste-indicator and pharmaceutical compounds in landfill-leachate-affected ground water near Elkhart, Indiana, 2000-2002: Buszka, P.M., Yeskis, D.J., Kolpin, D.W., Furlong, E.T., Zaugg, S.D., and Meyer, M.T., 2009, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, doi:10.1007/s00128-009-9702-z (Advanced Web release).
- Wastewater effluent, combined sewer overflows, and other sources of organic compounds to Lake Champlain: Phillips, P.J., and Chalmers, A.T., 2009, Journal of the American Water Works Association, v. 45, no. 1, p. 45-57, JAWRA-07-0175-P, doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2008.00288.x.
- Occurrence of organic wastewater compounds in the Tinkers Creek watershed and two other tributaries to the Cuyahoga River, Northeast Ohio: Tertuliani, J.S., Alvarez, D.S., Furlong, E.T., Meyer, M.T., Zaugg, S.D., and Koltun, G.F., 2008, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5173, 60 p.
- 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.
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