Geology topics

K.E. Smith

Publications and source records attributed to K.E. Smith.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1996

Water-quality assessment of the Albemarle-Pamlico Drainage Basin, North Carolina and Virginia; organochlorine compounds in Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea) soft tissues and whole redbrest sunfish (Lepomis auritus) 1992-93

The analysis of potential contaminants in biological tissues is an important part of many water-quality assessment programs, including the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Tissue analyses often are used to provide information about (1) direct threats to ecosystem integrity, and (2) the occurrence and distribution of potential contaminants in the environment. During 1992-93, Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea) soft tissues and whole redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) samples were collected and analyzed to obtain information about the occurrence and distribution of organochlorine compounds in the Albemarle-Pamlico drainage Basin of North Carolina and Virginia. The investigation was conducted as part of the NAWQA Program. Relatively few organochlorine compounds were detected and of the compounds detected, all were detected in relatively low concentrations. The organochlorine compounds detected were p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT, dieldrin, trans-nonachlor, PCB's, and toxaphene. Multiple compounds were detected at 16 of 19 sites sampled. Compared to Asiatic clams, redbreast sunfish appear to be better bioindicators of organochlorine contamination in aquatic systems. Except for one detection of toxaphene, pesticide concentrations are well below the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering (NAS/NAE) guidelines for the protection of fish-eating wildlife.

North Carolina, Virginia↗

USGS1996

Water-quality assessment of the Albemarle-Pamlico drainage basin, North Carolina and Virginia; trace elements in Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea) soft tissues and redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) livers, 1992-93

The analysis of potential contaminants in biological tissues is an important part of many water-quality assessment programs, including the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Tissue analyses often are used to provide information about (1) direct threats to ecosystem integrity, and (2) the occurrence and distribution of potential contaminants in the environment. During 1992-93, trace elements in Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea) soft tissues and redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) livers were analyzed to obtain information about the occurrence and distribution of trace element contaminants in the Albemarle-Pamlico Drainage Basin of North Carolina and Virginia. The investigation was conducted as part of the NAWQA Program. All but 3 of the 22 trace elements that were analyzed were detected. Although all 10 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) priority pollutants were detected in the tissues sampled, they were present in relatively low concentrations. Concentrations of U.S. EPA priority pollutants in Asiatic clams collected in the Albemarle-Pamlico Drainage Basin are similar to concentrations observed in other NAWQA study units in the southeastern United States. Mercury (a U.S. EPA priority pollutant) was widely detected, being present in 29 of 30 tissue samples, but concentrations did not exceed the FDA action level for mercury of a risk-based screening value for the general public. Mercury concentrations in Asiatic clams were similar to concentrations in other NAWQA study areas in the Southeast.

North Carolina, Virginia↗

USGS1994

Pesticide-sampling equipment, sample-collection and processing procedures, and water-quality data at Chicod Creek, North Carolina, 1992

Water-quality samples were collected from Chicod Creek in the Coastal Plain Province of North Carolina during the summer of 1992 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Chicod Creek is in the Albemarle-Pamlico drainage area, one of four study units designated to test equipment and procedures for collecting and processing samples for the solid-phase extraction of selected pesticides, The equipment and procedures were used to isolate 47 pesticides, including organonitrogen, carbamate, organochlorine, organophosphate, and other compounds, targeted to be analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Sample-collection and processing equipment equipment cleaning and set-up procedures, methods pertaining to collecting, splitting, and solid-phase extraction of samples, and water-quality data resulting from the field test are presented in this report Most problems encountered during this intensive sampling exercise were operational difficulties relating to equipment used to process samples.

North Carolina↗