The occurrence of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) and potential effects to aquatic biota in select tributaries of the St. Croix River in Minnesota and Wisconsin were measured. In 2011, treated wastewater effluent samples were collected from 22 sites in the St. Croix River Basin to determine total estrogenic activity. In 2012, wastewater effluent was collected at five select locations based on total estrogenicity and analyzed for CECs. In addition, surface water, bottom sediment, resident fish, and resident crayfish were collected upstream and downstream from effluent discharges. Water samples were analyzed for CECs (wastewater indicator compounds, steroid hormones, sterols, and pharmaceuticals). Bottom sediment samples were analyzed for a subset of CECs (wastewater indicator compounds, steroid hormones, and sterols). Fish and crayfish tissues were analyzed for select pharmaceuticals, antimicrobial compounds, plastic components, and alkylphenols. Multiple biological endpoints were assessed in resident and caged fish to assess biological effects of exposure to CECs.

The National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (NCBP), which was developed and maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), monitored concentrations of environmental contaminants in freshwater fish over a period of about 20 years. Beginning in the 1960s as a component of the multi-agency National Pesticide Monitoring Program (NPMP) and continuing through the mid-1980s, freshwater fish were periodically collected from a national network of stations for analysis of pesticides, PCBs, and other contaminants. The NPMP/NCBP database of contaminant concentrations is the most extensive of its kind, unique in its breadth and depth with respect to environmental contaminant concentrations in fish. The data and information from the NCBP are sought often by a national and international clientele; especially frequent users are biologists in FWS field offices and USGS Water Science Centers. The fish network was suspended by FWS in 1986 pending development of the Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) program. The BEST program and the NPMP/NCBP database were transferred to the National Biological Survey/Service (NBS) in 1993. At that time ongoing studies by NBS Inventory and Monitoring (I and M) and the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) generated new data at NCBP sites. The database was subsequently (1996) transferred to USGS. The database derived from the NCBP is unique in its ability to characterize the exposure of free-ranging organisms, including threatened and endangered species, to toxic contaminants.

Smelter slag, containing copper and other trace elements, is widespread in riverbed sediments in the Upper Columbia River near Kettle Falls, WA. To evaluate the potential risk to aquatic life, concentrations of copper and other trace elements were measured in the shallow pore and surface water collected near the sediment-water interface. An in situ pore-water profiler was used to collect a suite of four water samples from above, at, and below the sediment-water interface at each of 11 sampling locations. Samples were collected between July 19-21, 2017. The analysis of water samples included specific conductance, pH, alkalinity, dissolved organic carbon, and a suite of major anions, cations, and trace elements.

This dataset presents the results of 475 unique organic compounds collected from 54 wadeable streams within the Southeastern, USA, collected within 10 weeks during 2014. Maximum and median exposure conditions were evaluated in relation to watershed characteristics and for potential biological effects. This dataset contains the summary statistics (maximum and median concentrations)of detected compounds, as well as a summary of quality-assurance (blanks and replicates) samples. Also included are the statistical summaries as related to analyte specific contaminant detection/concentration data and site-specific land-use matrices, spearman-rank correlations, and ToxCast evaluations.

The AltEn bioenergy plant (Mead, Nebraska, USA) previously (2015 to 2021) generated ethanol from almost 100% unused/expired treated corn seeds. This use of treated corn seeds as a feedstock for ethanol production resulted in accumulation of large amounts of contaminated wastewater and solid residue at the plant, a portion of which was applied to surrounding farmland. To better understand the potential long-term environmental effects from the processing of treated seeds, five nearby stream sites were sampled from March to July 2022 after the closure of the AltEn plant. Water and bed sediment were collected in March (prior to crop planting) through July and algae, fish, and insect samples were collected in July. Overall, 60 pesticide compounds (parents and transformation products) were detected across all matrices. In surface water samples, 52 pesticides were detected with thiamethoxam degradate (NOA-407475) having the highest concentration of 4556.2 nanograms per liter (ng/L). Algae samples had 19 pesticides detected with atrazine having the highest concentration of 191.37 nanograms per gram dry weight (ng/g d.w.). Bed sediment (bottom material) had a total of 15 pesticides detected with the highest concentration of 2.30 ng/g d.w. of acetochlor. Insect samples had 14 pesticides detected with the highest concentration of 116.10 ng/g d.w. of clothianidin. The last matrix, fish, had a total of 5 pesticides detected with the highest concentration being for atrazine of 2.21 ng/g d.w.

This dataset characterizes the acute toxicity of copper and zinc to white sturgeon (~30 days post hatch) and cladocerans (less thab 24 hours old) in waters with varying dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by conducting 96-hour white sturgeon and 48-hour cladoceran copper and zinc exposures in test waters with natural DOC (from pond water) at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 5.5 mg/L.

Bioaccumulation dynamics of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides was examined in young-of-the-year bluefish from seven sub-estuaries of New York Bight ecosystem.

Fish tissue from 203 samples collected at five locations in the Niagara River Area of Concern in 2018 were analyzed for a wide range of analytes including Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides (E1 and E2), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), organochlorine and other persistent organic compounds, metals, lipid and moisture. Over 230 analytes were analyzed in the tissue samples, including 160 PCB congeners. Fish tissues from a subset of the sites (n=40) were also analyzed for Dioxins and Furans. The data set includes a variety of laboratory quality assurance data including sample replicates, laboratory blank data, laboratory spike data, matrix spike recoveries, and replicate matrix spike recoveries.

Fish tissue from 203 samples collected at five locations in the Niagara River Area of Concern in 2018 were analyzed for a wide range of analytes including Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides (E1 and E2), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), organochlorine and other persistent organic compounds, metals, lipid and moisture. Over 230 analytes were analyzed in the tissue samples, including 160 PCB congeners. Fish tissues from a subset of the sites (n=40) were also analyzed for Dioxins and Furans. The data set includes a variety of laboratory quality assurance data including sample replicates, laboratory blank data, laboratory spike data, matrix spike recoveries, and replicate matrix spike recoveries.

Human-use pharmaceutical, pesticide, and wastewater indicator compounds were analyzed at the U.S. Geological Survey, National Water Quality Laboratory, Denver, Colorado, in wadeable streams in 4 Regional Stream Quality Assessments: Northeast (NESQA), Southeast (SESQA), Pacific Northwest (PNSQA) and California (CSQA). Multiple (with few exceptions) samplings occurred at each site, during base flow, between 2014 and 2017. Sites were located in the headwaters of perennial, wadeable streams in urban and agricultural watersheds. Site selection and methodology for each assessment can be found in Van Meter and others (2015), Sheibley and others (2015), Van Meter and others (2017), Coles and others (2016), Van Meter and others (2016), Journey and others (2015), and Van Meter and others (2014). Additional results for this study can be found in Bradley and others, 2020 and Mahler and others, 2020. See cross-reference section for full citation information.