Environmental Effects on Human Health

Goal: Reduce risks to human health from hazardous chemicals and disease-causing organisms.

The USGS role is to provide information on the occurrence of environmental toxins and pathogens and the factors affecting fate and transport of these agents from their sources to humans.

FY 1997 Accomplishments

Volatile Organic Compounds

The California Air Board has been concerned about environmental impacts from the fuel oxygenate methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE). The NAWQA nonpoint source sampling results in eight urban areas and point source sampling done by others on MTBE occurrence in California have provided key information. Some concerns have also been expressed by California State legislators writing bills that have been sent to Governor Wilson. The Mountjoy bill, SB521, entitled "MTBE Public Health and Environmental Protection Act of 1997," calls for a University of California study and report to be submitted to the governor on or before January 1, 1999. Thereafter the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USGS are requested to comment on the report, within 6 weeks. California is deciding whether to mandate MTBE use across the State.

Postings and Closures

The National Park Service (NPS) used data collected by a USGS study in Nevada to support their rationale for posting notices that the Las Vegas Wash inlet to Lake Mead was affected by urban runoff and treated sewage effluent. USGS scientists cooperated with several other agencies, including NPS and USEPA, to investigate the occurrence of human made organic chemicals in Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead and to glandular irregularities in common carp. Results of the study indicated that these constituents were present; resulting in the posting of the Las Vegas Wash inlet. Study results also led the NPS and Nevada Division of Wildlife to sample edible tissues of striped bass and catfish for exceeding pesticide consumption guidelines. Finally, all these results led to the formation of the Lake Mead Water Quality Forum by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. This forum of local, State, and Federal agencies was formed to enhance communication and cooperation on Lake Mead water-quality issues.

Mercury: in Fish Tissue and Fishing in Alaska

USGS participated in a multiagency study on Lake Roosevelt, a popular fishing area. USGS scientists collected several species of fish from the lake and analyzed the tissue for mercury. As a result of this work, the Washington State Department of Health published a site-specific health advisory for mercury; this advisory cautioned that people who regularly consume large amounts of Lake Roosevelt walleye may be at risk of adverse health effects from mercury and should limit their consumption of these fish.

USGS studies of mercury in southwestern Alaska showed that mercury levels in the environment do not pose a significant risk to fish, which supply both food and income to residents. USGS investigations, in this historical mercury mining district that covers thousands of square kilometers, demonstrated that mercury concentrations in stream sediment, stream water, plant, soil, and fish samples collected near the old mines are elevated over local backgrounds. However, mercury concentrations in stream water, freshwater fish, and salmon are below regulatory guidelines, and mercury concentrations in fish are still below the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards. These conclusions are the result of cooperative studies with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Calista Corporation (an Alaska Native Corporation).

Water Availability and Quality || Natural Hazards || Geographic and Cartographic Information || Contaminated Environments || Land and Water Use || Nonrenewable Resources || Environmental Effects on Human Health || Biological Resources

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Maintained by John Watson
Last updated June 19, 1998