Geology topics

Thomas A. Minarik

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas A. Minarik.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2017

Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence

Human activities introduce a variety of chemicals to the Laurentian Great Lakes including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plasticizers, and solvents (collectively referred to as contaminants of emerging concern or CECs) potentially threatening the vitality of these valuable ecosystems. We conducted a basin-wide study to identify the presence of CECs and other chemicals of interest in 12 U.S. tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes during 2013 and 2014. A total of 292 surface-water and 80 sediment samples were collected and analyzed for approximately 200 chemicals. A total of 32 and 28 chemicals were detected in at least 30% of water and sediment samples, respectively. Concentrations ranged from 0.0284 (indole) to 72.2 (cholesterol) μg/L in water and 1.75 (diphenhydramine) to 20,800 μg/kg (fluoranthene) in sediment. Cluster analyses revealed chemicals that frequently co-occurred such as pharmaceuticals and flame retardants at sites receiving similar inputs such as wastewater treatment plant effluent. Comparison of environmental concentrations to water and sediment-quality benchmarks revealed that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations often exceeded benchmarks in both water and sediment. Additionally, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and dichlorvos concentrations exceeded water-quality benchmarks in several rivers. Results from this study can be used to understand organism exposure, prioritize river basins for future management efforts, and guide detailed assessments of factors influencing transport and fate of CECs in the Great Lakes Basin.

Great Lakes↗

USGS2017

Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: II. Biological consequences of exposure

The Laurentian Great Lakes contain one fifth of the world’s surface freshwater and have been impacted by human activity since the Industrial Revolution. In addition to legacy contaminants, nitrification and invasive species, this aquatic ecosystem is also the recipient of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) with poorly understood biological consequences. In the current study, we documented the presence, concentrations, and biological effects of CECs across 27 field sites in six Great Lakes tributaries by examining over 2250 resident and caged sunfish ( Lepomis ssp .) for a variety of morphological and physiological endpoints and related these results to CEC occurrence. CEC were ubiquitous across studies sites and their presence and concentrations in water and sediment were highest in effluent dominated rivers and downstream of municipal wastewater treatment plant discharges. However, even putative upstream reference sites were not free of CEC presence and fish at these sites exhibited biological effects consistent with CEC exposure. Only the Fox River exhibited consistent adverse biological effects, including increased relative liver size, greater prominence of hepatocyte vacuoles and increased plasma glucose concentrations. Canonical Redundancy Analysis revealed consistent patterns of biological consequences of CEC exposure across all six tributaries. Increasing plasma glucose concentrations, likely as a result of pollutant-induced metabolic stress, were associated with increased relative liver size and greater prominence of hepatocyte vacuoles. These indicators of pollutant exposure were inversely correlated with indicators of reproductive potential including smaller gonad size and less mature gametes. The current study highlights the need for greater integration of chemical and biological studies and suggests that CECs in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin may adversely affect the reproductive potential of exposed fish populations.

PLoS ONE↗

USGS2015

Endocrine disrupting alkylphenolic chemicals and other contaminants in wastewater treatment plant effluents, urban streams, and fish in the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River Regions

Urban streams are an integral part of the municipal water cycle and provide a point of discharge for wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, allowing additional attenuation through dilution and transformation processes, as well as a conduit for transporting contaminants to downstream water supplies. Domestic and commercial activities dispose of wastes down-the-drain, resulting in wastewater containing complex chemical mixtures that are only partially removed during treatment. A key issue associated with WWTP effluent discharge into streams is the potential to cause endocrine disruption in fish. This study provides a long-term (1999-2009) evaluation of the occurrence of alkylphenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and other contaminants discharged from WWTPs into streams in the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River Regions (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio). The Greater Metropolitan Chicago Area Waterways, Illinois, were evaluated to determine contaminant concentrations in the major WWTP effluents and receiving streams, and assess the behavior of EDCs from their sources within the sewer collection system, through the major treatment unit processes at a WWTP, to their persistence and transport in the receiving stream. Water samples were analyzed for alkylphenolic EDCs and other contaminants, including 4-nonylphenol (NP), 4-nonylphenolpolyethoxylates (NPEO), 4-nonylphenolethoxycarboxylic acids (NPEC), 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), 4-tert-octylphenolpolyethoxylates (OPEO), bisphenol A, triclosan, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and trace elements. All of the compounds were detected in all of the WWTP effluents, with EDTA and NPEC having the greatest concentrations. The compounds also were detected in the WWTP effluent dominated rivers. Multiple fish species were collected from river and lake sites and analyzed for NP, NPEO, NPEC, OP, and OPEO. Whole-body fish tissue analysis indicated widespread occurrence of alkylphenolic compounds, with the highest concentrations occurring in streams with the greatest WWTP effluent content. Biomarkers of endocrine disruption in the fish indicated long-term exposure to estrogenic chemicals in the wastewater impacted urban waterways.

Science of the Total Environment↗

USGS2012

Concentration of organic contaminants in fish and their biological effects in a wastewater-dominated urban stream

Data are presented on the concentrations of alkylphenol and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) and persistent organic compounds in largemouth bass collected from a waste-water dominated stream in downtown Chicago. The fish residue concentrations of APEs are compared to concentrations of the APEs in the water that were collected at weekly intervals over two months bracketing the fall (2006) and a spring (2007) fish collection. The concentrations of APEs were significantly higher in the spring-collected fish (5.42 μg/g) versus the fall (0.99 μg/g) tand these differences were shared by differences in the water concentrations (spring — 11.47 versus fall — 3.44 μg/L). The differences in water concentration were negatively correlated with water temperatures observed over the two sampling times. Fish residue concentrations of persistent organic compounds (PCBs, PBDEs, toxaphene, and many legacy pesticides including the DDT family) did not vary from fall to spring. Some of these residue concentrations were comparable to the highest NPE (nonylphenol ethoxylate) homologue concentrations, e.g. NP1EO was 3.5 μg/g in the bass for the spring, the PBDE-congener 47 and p,p′-DDE averaged 1.0 μg/g and 0.5 μg/g, respectively, over both seasons. All the other persistent single-analyte concentrations were lower. Biological endpoints for endocrine effects measured in the same fish showed that there was an apparent positive correlation for physiological effects based on increased vitellogenin levels in males versus concentration of NPEs; however there were no observable histological differences in fall versus spring fish samples.

Science of the Total Environment↗