Juxtaposition of Intensive Agriculture, Vulnerable Aquifers, and Mixed Chemical/Microbial Exposures in Private-Well Tapwater in Northeast Iowa

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beane Freeman LE ; Bradley PM ; Breitmeyer SE ; Cardon MC ; Cwiertny DM ; Evans N ; Field RW ; Focazio MJ ; Givens CE ; Gray JL ; Hager GL ; Hladik ML ; Hofmann JN ; Jones RR ; Kanagy LK ; Kolpin DW ; Lane RF ; McCleskey RB ; Medgyesi D ; Medlock-Kakaley EK ; Meppelink SM ; Meyer MT ; Romanok KM ; Smalling KL ; Stavreva DA ; Thompson DA ; Ward MH
• Description:
  In the United States and globally, contaminant exposure in unregulated private-well point-of-use tapwater (TW) is a recognized public-health data gap and an obstacle to both risk-management and homeowner decision making. To help address the lack of data on broad contaminant exposures in private-well TW from hydrologically-vulnerable (alluvial, karst) aquifers in agriculturally-intensive landscapes, samples were collected in 2018-2019 from 47 northeast Iowa farms and analyzed for 35 inorganics, 437 unique organics, 5 in vitro bioassays, and 11 microbial assays. Twenty-six inorganics and 51 organics, dominated by pesticides and related transformation products (35 herbicide-, 5 insecticide-, and 2 fungicide-related), were observed in TW. Heterotrophic bacteria detections were near ubiquitous (94 % of the samples), with detection of total coliform bacteria in 28 % of the samples and growth on at least one putative-pathogen selective media across all TW samples. Health-based hazard index screening levels were exceeded frequently in private-well TW and attributed primarily to inorganics (nitrate, uranium). Results support incorporation of residential treatment systems to protect against contaminant exposure and the need for increased monitoring of rural private-well homes. Continued assessment of unmonitored and unregulated private-supply TW is needed to model contaminant exposures and human-health risks. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Insecticides Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Health Author Keywords: Tapwater Contaminants Bacteria Chemicals Drinking Water Environmental Contamination Environmental Monitoring Ground Water Human Health Inorganics Microbial Organics Pesticides And Agricultural Chemicals Private Wells Public Health

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• ISSN:
  0048-9697
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Colorado ; Iowa ; Kansas ; Maryland ; Michigan ; New Jersey ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8 ; OSHA Region 9 ; South Carolina ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  868
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067064
• Citation:
  Sci Total Environ 2023 Apr; 868:161672
• Contact Point Address:
  Paul M. Bradley, U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia, SC, USA
• Email:
  pbradley@usgs.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Science of the Total Environment
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c3b64cf9501c983bca6024716be1f0093e191d81f0df84d08702729d9a11afbf0fa8a99a3afd76ae6efd348e20bb3107867b4aedbaa7676097a64760a1478301
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231269/cdc_231269_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.84 MB ]