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

• Do Combined Sewer Overflows Increase or Decrease Wastewater-Related Chemicals in Receiving Waters?
• Are Fecal Indicator Bacteria Effective Indicators of Chemical and Pathogenic Contaminants Associated with Human and Animal Waste?
• Hormones Degrade in the Environment!
• Algal Blooms Consistently Produce Complex Mixtures of Cyanotoxins and Co-Occur with Taste-and-Odor Causing Compounds in 23 Midwestern Lakes
• Antidepressants in Stream Waters! Are They in the Fish Too?
• Manufacturing Facilities Release Pharmaceuticals to the Environment
• Tackling Fish Endocrine Disruption
• Measuring Antidepressants, Fungicides, and Insecticides in the Environment
• 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 cosponsors the special session Fate and Behavior of Pharmaceuticals in Treated Wastewaters, Sludge and River Waters at the SETAC 30th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 19-23, 2009
• The USGS sponsored the special session Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals--Analytical Methods and Environment Processes at the SETAC 30th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 19-23, 2009

New Publications

Upcoming Publications

• Contamination of nonylphenolic compounds in creek water, wastewater treatment plant effluents, and sediments from Lake Shihwa and vicinity, Korea--Comparison with fecal pollution: Choi, M., Furlong, E.T., Moon, H.-B., Yu, J., and Choi, H.-G., Chemosphere, doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.08.016 (IN PRESS).
• Earthworm bioassays and seed germination for monitoring biosolids toxicity, aging and bioaccumulation of anthropogenic waste indicator compounds in biosolids-amended soil: Kinney, C.A., Campbell, B.R., Thompson, R., Furlong, E.T., Kolpin, D.W., Burkardt, M.R., Zaugg, S.D., Werner, S.L., and Hay, A.G., Environmental Science and Technology (IN PRESS).
• Chiral pesticides--Identification, description, and environmental implications: Ulrich, E.M., Morrison, C.N., Goldsmith, M.R., and Foreman, W.T., Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (IN PRESS).

Newly Published

• Fish endocrine disruption responses to a major wastewater treatment facility upgrade: Barber, L.B., Vajda, A.M., Douville, C., Norris, D.O., and Writer, J.H., 2012, Environmental Science and Technology, doi:10.1021/es202880e.
• Effects of the antimicrobial sulfamethoxazole on groundwater bacterial enrichment: Underwood, J.C., Harvey, R.W., Metge, D.W., Repert, D.A., Baumgartner, L.K., Smith, R.L., Roane, T.M., and Barber, L.B., 2011, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 45, no. 7, p. 3096-3101, doi:10.1021/es103605e.
• Reproductive endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in the Potomac River Basin--Spatial and temporal comparisons of biological effects: Blazer, V., Iwanowicz, L., Henderson, H., Mazik, P., Jenkins, J., Alvarez, D., and Young, J., 2011, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, p. 26, doi:10.1007/s10661-011-2266-5 (Advanced Web release).
• Role of biofilms in sorptive removal of steroidal hormones and 4-nonylphenol compounds from streams: Writer, J.H., Ryan, J.N., and Barber, L.B., 2011, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 45, no. 17, p. 7275-7283, doi:10.1021/es2008038.
• Methods for evaluating in-stream attenuation of trace organic compounds: Writer, J.H., Keefe, S.K., Ryan, J.N., Ferrer, I., Thurman, M.E., and Barber, L.B., 2011, Applied Geochemistry, v. 26, Supplement, p. S344-S345, doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.071.
• Biodegradation and attenuation of steroidal hormones and alkylphenols by stream biofilms and sediments: Writer, J.H., Barber, L.B., Ryan, J.N., and Bradley, P.M., 2011, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 45, no. 10, p. 4370-4376, doi:10.1021/es2000134.
• Occurrence of antibiotic resistance and characterization of resistance genes and integrons in Enterobacteriaceae isolated from integrated fish farms in south China: Su, H.-C., Ying, G.-G., Tao, R., Zhang, R.-Q., Fogarty, L.R., and Kolpin, D.W., 2011, Journal of Environmental Monitoring (Advanced Web release).

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

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.