Occurrence of emerging contaminants in water and bed material in the Missouri River, North Dakota, 2007

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, conducted a reconnaissance study to determine the occurrence of emerging contaminants in water and bed sediment within the Missouri River upstream and downstream from the cities of Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota, and upstream from the city of Fort Yates, North Dakota, during September-October 2007. At each site, water samples were collected twice and bed-sediment samples were collected once. Samples were analyzed for more than 200 emerging contaminants grouped into four compound classeswastewater compounds, human-health pharmaceutical compounds, hormones, and antibiotics. Only sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic, was present at a concentration higher than minimum detection limits. It was detected in a water sample collected downstream from the cities of Bismarck and Mandan, and in bed-sediment samples collected at the two sites downstream from the cities of Bismarck and Mandan and upstream from Fort Yates. Sulfamethoxazole is an antibiotic commonly used for treating bacterial infections in humans and animals.

Occurrence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and organic wastewater compounds in Pennsylvania waters, 2006-09

“…Work on a national scale includes Terns, 1998; Kolpin and others, 2002;Jobling and others, 2006;Barnes and others, 2008;Focazio and others, 2008. Work focused on individual states, watersheds, or streams includes Chambers and Leiker, 2006;Roberts and Thomas, 2006;Woodling and others, 2006;Oblinger and others, 2007;Alvarez and others, 2008;Tertuliani and others, 2008;Haack, 2009;Damschen and Lundgren, 2009. A few streamwater and groundwater samples from Pennsylvania were included in the national surveys by Kolpin and others (2002) and Barnes and others (2008), respectively; some contaminants of emerging concern were detected in the samples. Organic wastewater compounds were detected in base-flow and well-water samples in Chester County, Pa., (Senior and Cinotto, 2007;Senior and Sloto 2010) and in well-water samples in Adams County, Pa., (Low and Conger, 2002) and Pike County, Pa., (Senior, 2009) in areas with onsite wastewater disposal.…”

Photodegradation of Sulfamethoxazole with a Recyclable Catalyst

“…Sulfamethoxazole (SMX, 4-amino-N-(5-methyl-3-isoxazolyl) benzenesulfon-amide), a white, odorless, and tasteless antimicrobial agent, is commonly used as the human and veterinary medicine. As human medicine, SMX is used to treat diseases such as middle ear infection, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, urinary tract infection, malaria, toxoplasmosis, and traveler’s diarrhea . As veterinary medicine, SMX is used as feed additives to promote growth and weight gain of food animals apart from the application in treating diseases and infections …”

“…As human medicine, SMX is used to treat diseases such as middle ear infection, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, urinary tract infection, malaria, toxoplasmosis, and traveler's diarrhea. 1 As veterinary medicine, SMX is used as feed additives to promote growth and weight gain of food animals apart from the application in treating diseases and infections. 2 Because of industrial and domestic activities, SMX may end up in bodies of water through various routes such as pharmaceutical effluents, toilet flushing, and excretes with or without proper treatment.…”

Unregulated and Emerging Contaminants in Tribal Water

“…Tribal‐specific analyses of emerging contaminants in environmental water samples have been previously reported, but in the context of monitoring of wastewater discharge to surface water. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted an analysis of emerging contaminants with the collaboration of two Tribes, the Standing Rock Sioux and the Stillaguamish Tribe (Damschen and Lundgren 2009; Wagner et al 2014). A screening of over 200 contaminants of water and riverbed sediment along the Missouri River on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation showed the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole above method detection limits.…”