ORCID Profile
0000-0002-7305-4603
Current Organisation
US Geological Survey
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2021
Publisher: US Geological Survey
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.3133/OFR20111054
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 11-02-2013
DOI: 10.1021/ES303720G
Abstract: Natural and synthetic organic contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can cause ecosystem impacts, raising concerns about their persistence in receiving streams. In this study, Lagrangian s ling, in which the same approximate parcel of water is tracked as it moves downstream, was conducted at Boulder Creek, Colorado and Fourmile Creek, Iowa to determine in-stream transport and attenuation of organic contaminants discharged from two secondary WWTPs. Similar stream reaches were evaluated, and s les were collected at multiple sites during summer and spring hydrologic conditions. Travel times to the most downstream (7.4 km) site in Boulder Creek were 6.2 h during the summer and 9.3 h during the spring, and to the Fourmile Creek 8.4 km downstream site times were 18 and 8.8 h, respectively. Discharge was measured at each site, and integrated composite s les were collected and analyzed for >200 organic contaminants including metal complexing agents, nonionic surfactant degradates, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, steroidal hormones, and pesticides. The highest concentration (>100 μg L(-1)) compounds detected in both WWTP effluents were ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and 4-nonylphenolethoxycarboxylate oligomers, both of which persisted for at least 7 km downstream from the WWTPs. Concentrations of pharmaceuticals were lower (<1 μg L(-1)), and several compounds, including carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole, were detected throughout the study reaches. After accounting for in-stream dilution, a complex mixture of contaminants showed little attenuation and was persistent in the receiving streams at concentrations with potential ecosystem implications.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 13-12-2005
DOI: 10.1021/ES051270Q
Abstract: Identifying the sources and impacts of organic and inorganic contaminants at the watershed scale is a complex challenge because of the multitude of processes occurring in time and space. Investigation of geochemical transformations requires a systematic evaluation of hydrologic, landscape, and anthropogenic factors. The 1160 km2 Boulder Creek Watershed in the Colorado Front Range encompasses a gradient of geology, ecotypes, climate, and urbanization. Streamflow originates primarily as snowmelt and shows substantial annual variation. Water s les were collected along a 70-km transect during spring-runoff and base-flow conditions, and analyzed for major elements, trace elements, bulk organics, organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs), and pesticides. Major-element and trace-element concentrations were low in the headwaters, increased through the urban corridor, and had a step increase downstream from the first major wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Boron, gadolinium, and lithium were useful inorganic tracers of anthropogenic inputs. Effluent from the WWTP accounted for as much as 75% of the flow in Boulder Creek and was the largest chemical input. Under both hydrological conditions, OWCs and pesticides were detected in Boulder Creek downstream from the WWTP outfall as well as in the headwater region, and loads of anthropogenic-derived contaminants increased as basin population density increased. This report documents a suite of potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals in a reach of stream with native fish populations showing indication of endocrine disruption.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2012.09.063
Abstract: The Potomac River basin is an area where a high prevalence of abnormalities such as testicular oocytes (TO), skin lesions, and mortality has been observed in smallmouth bass (SMB, Micropterus dolomieu). Previous research documented a variety of chemicals in regional streams, implicating chemical exposure as one plausible explanation for these biological effects. Six stream sites in the Potomac basin (and one out-of-basin reference site) were s led to provide an assessment of chemicals in these streams. Potential early life-stage exposure to chemicals detected was assessed by collecting s les in and around SMB nesting areas. Target chemicals included those known to be associated with important agricultural and municipal wastewater sources in the Potomac basin. The prevalence and severity of TO in SMB were also measured to determine potential relations between chemistry and biological effects. A total of 39 chemicals were detected at least once in the discrete-water s les, with atrazine, caffeine, deethylatrazine, simazine, and iso-chlorotetracycline being most frequently detected. Of the most frequently detected chemicals, only caffeine was detected in water from the reference site. No biogenic hormones/sterols were detected in the discrete-water s les. In contrast, 100 chemicals (including six biogenic hormones/sterols) were found in a least one passive-water s le, with 25 being detected at all such s les. In addition, 46 chemicals (including seven biogenic hormones/sterols) were found in the bed-sediment s les, with caffeine, cholesterol, indole, para-cresol, and sitosterol detected in all such s les. The number of herbicides detected in discrete-water s les per site had a significant positive relation to TO(rank) (a nonparametric indicator of TO), with significant positive relations between TO(rank) and atrazine concentrations in discrete-water s les and to total hormone/sterol concentration in bed-sediment s les. Such significant correlations do not necessarily imply causation, as these chemical compositions and concentrations likely do not adequately reflect total SMB exposure history, particularly during critical life stages.
No related grants have been discovered for Edward Furlong.