Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center

Environmental Chemistry Lab

Overview

Environmental Chemistry and Geochemistry. Our lab conducts research on the sources, fate and transport of organic substances in fluvial and estuarine environments, especially in relation to urban influences. Also of interest are methods of evaluating the historical inputs of contaminants.

PI(s) of the lab

Dr. Gregory Foster, Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Research Topics

  • Status and Trends of Micropollutants in Surface Water and Sediments from Wastewater Discharge in Hunting Creek (Tidal Potomac River, Virginia)
  • Historical Perspectives and Food Chain Bioaccumulation Implications of Perfluorinated Alklysubstances Using Bird Feathers
  • Novel Thin Film Passive Samplers for Perflourinated Alklysubstances in Water
  • Historical Record of Cyanotoxins in Sediment Cores from Freshwater Marshes
  • Fate and Hydrologic Dynamics of Pharmaceutical Chemicals in WTP Discharge in Hunting Creek (Tidal Potomac River, Virginia)
  • LC-MS/MS Methods of Analysis of Micropollutants in the Potomac River Watershed

Facilities

Trace Analysis Laboratory. The primary instrumentation and equipment are listed below.

  1. Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), Shimadzu 8050. This instrument is used to analyze trace (parts per trillion) levels of organic substances (pharmaceutials, perfluoroalkylsubstances, cyanotoxins, and pesticides in liquid and solid environmental matrices.
  2. Total Organic Carbon/Nitrogen Analyzer (TOC/TN), Shimadzu TOC-SLH. This instrument is an elemental analyzer that measures bulk carbon and nitrogen in water and sediment samples and the 0.1 mg/L concentration.
  3. Ion Chromatography (anion analysis), Dionix Aquion. This instrument is used in the analysis of major anions (Cl-, Br-, F-, SO42-, NO3-, PO43-) in water samples.
  4. A wide range of field sensors for measuring pH, conductivity, and alkalinity in water chemistry.
  5. Submersible water samplers, Vibecore Mini sediment corer, Petite Ponar sediment sampler, and field collection gear.

Publications

Foster G, Leahigh A, Huff T. Surface Water Processes Influencing Alterations in Pharmaceutical Chemical Composition following Wastewater Discharge into a Freshwater Estuary. Toxics. 2022 10(11):702-. DOI: 10.3390/toxics10110702

Licato J, Foster G, Huff T. Zeolite Composite Materials for the Simultaneous Removal of Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Water Treatment. ACS ES&T Water. 2022 May 31; 2(6):1046-1055. DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00024

Ajjan C, Hussam A, Foster G. The Binding of Ciprofloxacin with Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS): Fluorescence and PH Studies. In Contaminants in Our Water: Identification and Remediation Methods; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society. 2020; 1352:143-166. DOI: doi:10.1021/bk-2020-1352.ch008 10.1021/bk-2020-1352.ch008

Foster GD, Leahigh A. Sediment-water distribution and benthic boundary layer fluxes of pharmaceuticals and personal care products near wastewater discharge into a tidal river shoal. ACS ES&T Water. 2021; 1:1447-1455. DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00028

Foster, G, Walls C, McEachern, PR, Huff, TB, McBride, R (2019) Sedimentary profiles of pollution marker chemicals along a large tributary of Chesapeake Bay (mid-Atlantic USA). J Soils Sediments 19(3), 1511-1526. DOI: 10.1007/s11368-018-2157-2.

Arya G, S Tadayon, J Sadighian, J Jones, K de Mutsert, T Huff and G Foster (2017) Pharmaceutical chemicals, steroids and xenoestrogens in water, sediments and fish from the tidal freshwater Potomac River (Virginia, USA). J Environ Sci Health A52, 686-696

Conference Presentations

Elizabeth Lang, Gregory Foster, Tom Huff, Randy McBride, David Velinsky. Legacy Pesticides in Riverine Marsh Sediment Cores from the Tidal Freshwater Potomac River. Poster Presentation at American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Fall Meeting, Washington, DC, December 2018.

Arion Leahigh, Lisa McAnulty, Chau Pham, RC Jones, Kim DeMutsert and Greg Foster. Presence Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Water, Sediments
And Fish in The Tidal Freshwater Potomac River and Its Tributaries. Poster Presentation At The American Chemical Society National Fall Meeting, Environmental Chemistry Division, Boston, MA, August 2018.

Arion Leahigh and Gregory Foster. Occurrence of Opioids in Water and Sediment Samples from the Potomac River Bays and Estuaries. Platform Presentation At The American Chemical Society National Spring Meeting, Environmental Chemistry Division, Orlando, FL, April 2019.

Arion Leahigh and Gregory Foster. Occurrence of Opioids in Water and Sediments from the Tidal Freshwater Potomac River. Platform Presentation At The Atlantic Estuarine Research Society Spring Meeting, Woodbridge, VA, April 2019.

Elizabeth Lang, Gregory D. Foster, Thomas Huff, Randolph McBride and David Velinsky. Legacy pesticides in riverine marsh sediment cores from the tidal freshwater, oligohaline, and mesohaline zones of the Potomac River. Platform Presentation at The American Chemical Society National Spring Meeting, Environmental Chemistry Division, Orlando, FL, April 2019.

Elizabeth Lang, Gregory D. Foster, Thomas Huff, Randolph McBride and David Velinsky. Legacy pesticides in riverine marsh sediment cores from the tidal freshwater Potomac River. Platform Presentation at The Atlantic Estuarine Research Society Spring Meeting, Woodbridge, VA, April 2019.

Carol Ajjan, Gregory Foster. Sorption of ciprofloxacin to perfluorinated compounds determined through fluorescence quenching. Platform Presentation At The American Chemical Society National Spring Meeting, Environmental Chemistry Division, Orlando, FL, April 2019.

Lisa McAnulty, Thomas Huff, Gregory Foster. Presence and risk assessment of antidepressants in tidal freshwater Potomac River water, sediments, and fish. Poster Presentation at The American Chemical Society National Fall Meeting, Environmental Chemistry Division, San Diego, CA, August 2019.

Tovga Haji, Thomas Huff, Gregory Foster. LC-MS/MS analysis of UV-filter and paraben micropollutants in Potomac River sediments. Poster Presentation at The American Chemical Society National Fall Meeting, Environmental Chemistry Division, San Diego, CA, August 2019.
Greg Foster, Arion Leahigh and Thomas Huff. Diffusional Fluxes of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products Across the Sediment-Water Interface in the Urban Tidal Freshwater Potomac River (Washington, DC). Platform Presentation at American Geophysical Union (AGU), San Francisco, December 2019.

Greg Foster. Sediment-Water Dynamics of Emerging Contaminants in The Tidal Freshwater Potomac River. Invited seminar at American University, October 2021.
Batool Murtadha, Songjing Yan, Upal Ghosh, and Gregory Foster. Micro-Solid Phase Extraction Method for Analyzing PFAS in Water. Platform Presentation at Environmental Chemistry of Emerging Contaminants Symposium (ECEC21), Champaign, IL, April 2021.

Greg Foster, Upal Ghosh, Songjing Yan, and Batool Murtadh. Development of novel functionalized polymeric thin films for equilibrium passive sampling of PFAS compounds in surface and groundwater (ER-20-C2-1336). SERDP & ESTCP PFAS Project Meeting, 19 July 2022, Long Beach, CA.

Matthew Badia and Greg Foster. Bird Feathers As a Method of Reconstructing Historical Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Poster Presentation at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemical 43rd North American National Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, 15 November 2022.

Grad Students

Current Grad Students

Hadijatu Kamara
PhD Chemistry and Biochemistry
Spatial and Temporal Variability in Aquatic Geochemistry of Major Anions in Northern Virginia Streams

Batool Murtadha
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Novel Passive Sampling Methods for Perfluoroalklysubstances in Surface and Drinking Waters

Matthew Badia
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Perfluoroalklysubstances in Bird Feathers as A Historical Chemical Tracer and Food Chain Indicator

Cooper Burgin
PhD Chemistry & Biochemisry
Fate and Hydrologic Influence of Pharmaceutical Chemicals in Wastewater Discharge in the Tidal Freshwater Potomac River

Carissa Hunter
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Fate and Behavior of Pharmaceutical Chemicals in the Tidal Potomac River

Allison Burgess
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Historical Record of Cyanotoxins in Sediment Cores from Tidal Freshwater Marshes in the Potomac River

Silvia Auffret
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Sources and Fate of Microplastics in the Tidal Freshwater Potomac River

Past Grad Students

Carol Ajjan
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Noncovalent Binding of Anthracene and Ciprofloxacin with Molecular Pseudophase: Fluorescence and pH Studies
2020

Stephanie Gordon
MS Environmental Science & Policy
Population Dynamics and Pharmaceutical Contamination in Streams and Rivers Across the United States
2019

Arion Leahigh
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Tidal Freshwater Potomac River
2018

Elizabeth Lang
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Legacy Pesticides in Riverine Marsh Sediment Cores from the Tidal Zones of the Potomac River
2019

June Kang
MS Chemistry
Characterization of the Acid-Base Properties of Selected Humic Substances and Model Compounds
2019

Golala Arya
PhD Chemistry & Biochemistry
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Water, Sediments and Fish Observed in Urban Tributaries of the Freshwater Tidal Potomac River: Occurrence, Bioaccumulation and Tissue Distribution
2015

David Nadrchal
MS Chemistry
Allocating the Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Surficial
Sediments from the Washington, DC Region with Particular Emphasis on Coal Tar
Sealcoat
2013

Thomas Huff
PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy
Herbicides in the Potomac and Occoquan River Watersheds
2012

Kevin Dove
MS Chemistry
PCBs Distribution in Wastewater Treatment Plant
2010

Kathleen Housman
MS Chemistry
PCBs and PAH at the Potomac River Estuarine Turbidity Maximum
2010

Mike Huang
PhD Physical Sciences
Sorption of Phosphates on Mineral Oxides
2010

Lirije Shala
MS Chemistry
Surface Water Concentrations and Loading Budgets of Pharmaceuticals and Other Domestic-Use Chemicals in an Urban Watershed (Washington, DC, USA)
2007

Robert Allen
MS Chemistry
PAH Profiles in Regional Fairfax County Air
2005

Philip McEachern
PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy
PCB and PAH Molecular Markers in Potomac River Sediments
2005

Cassi Walls
PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy
Sedimentary Fatty Acids and Sterols in the Potomac River
2004

Paul Thomas
MS Chemistry
Tracking Acidic Pharmaceuticals, Caffeine and Triclosan Through the Wastewater Treatment Process
2004

Paige Brown
PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy
Food Chain Bioaccumulation of PCBs in the Anacostia River
2001

William Eckel
PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy
Lead Smelting Sources in Washington DC
2001

Bernie Crimmins
MS Chemistry
Bioaccumulation of PCBs in Aquatic Biota from a Tidal Freshwater Marsh Ecosystem
2000

Eshwar Jagerdeo
MS Chemistry
Multidimensional Gas Chromatography of Pesticides in Wine
2000

Alex Tracy
MS Chemistry
Rapid Analysis of Nitrogen Heterocycles using Capillary Zone Electrophoresis
1997

Thomas Huff
MS Chemistry
Semipermeable Membrane Devices for Sampling PCBs at Dyke Marsh
1997

Cynthia Brown
MS Chemisry
Supercritical Fluid Extraction of PAHs in Soils
1996

Sammy Abdalla
MS Chemistry
HPLC Methods Development Of Diflubenzuron in Soil
1995

Jessica Hopple
MS Chemistry
Sequestration of Organochlorines in Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
1994

Phillip McEachern
MS Chemistry
Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Organochlorines in Plant Tissues and Soils
1994

Tzyy-Heng Shan
MS Chemistry
Multiresidue Analysis of Organochlorines in Fish Tissues
1992