Publications by authors named "Sara Breitmeyer"

Article Synopsis
  • Water scarcity in California is worsening due to drought, climate change, pollution, and population growth, particularly impacting drinking water in socially disadvantaged communities.
  • A study collected tap water samples from various regions, focusing on low-income areas with high breast cancer rates, analyzing a total of 251 organic and 32 inorganic contaminants.
  • Results revealed frequent mixtures of contaminants exceeding safety levels across all regions, underscoring the need for further research to link these exposures to health risks like breast cancer in vulnerable populations.
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Drinking-water quality is a rising concern in the United States (US), emphasizing the need to broadly assess exposures and potential health effects at the point-of-use. Drinking-water exposures to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a national concern, however, there is limited information on PFAS in residential tapwater at the point-of-use, especially from private-wells. We conducted a national reconnaissance to compare human PFAS exposures in unregulated private-well and regulated public-supply tapwater.

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The objectives of this study are to identify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Pennsylvania surface waters, corresponding associations with potential sources of PFAS contamination (PSOC) and other parameters, and compare raw surface water concentrations to human and ecological benchmarks. Surface water samples from 161 streams were collected in September 2019 and were analyzed for 33 target PFAS and water chemistry. Land use and physical attributes in upstream catchments and geospatial counts of PSOC in local catchments are summarized.

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Reservoirs in arid landscapes provide critical water storage and hydroelectric power but influence the transport and biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg). Improved management of reservoirs to mitigate the supply and uptake of bioavailable methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic food webs will benefit from a mechanistic understanding of inorganic divalent Hg (Hg(II)) and MeHg fate within and downstream of reservoirs. Here, we quantified Hg(II), MeHg, and other pertinent biogeochemical constituents in water (filtered and associated with particles) at high temporal resolution from 2016-2020.

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Article Synopsis
  • People in the U.S. and around the world are not getting enough information about the dirty water from private wells, which can be a health risk.
  • A study in northeast Iowa tested water from 47 farms and found a lot of harmful substances, like pesticides and bacteria.
  • The results showed that many private wells had dangerous levels of chemicals, which means homeowners should use water treatment systems and more tests should be done to keep people safe.
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In the United States (US), private-supply tapwater (TW) is rarely monitored. This data gap undermines individual/community risk-management decision-making, leading to an increased probability of unrecognized contaminant exposures in rural and remote locations that rely on private wells. We assessed point-of-use (POU) TW in three northern plains Tribal Nations, where ongoing TW arsenic (As) interventions include expansion of small community water systems and POU adsorptive-media treatment for Strong Heart Water Study participants.

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Chemical contamination of riverine ecosystems is largely a result of urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural activities occurring on adjacent terrestrial landscapes. Land management activities (e.g.

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Article Synopsis
  • A pilot study in Puerto Rico assessed the presence of over 500 organic and 37 inorganic contaminants in drinking water from 14 locations to better understand human health risks associated with tap water exposure.
  • The study revealed elevated levels of harmful substances like lead and disinfection byproducts, highlighting the need for further investigation into the cumulative health risks for vulnerable populations.
  • Results emphasize the importance of monitoring drinking water quality at the point of consumption and using comprehensive analytical methods to address the complexities of contaminant mixtures in source waters across the US.
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Chemical-contaminant mixtures are widely reported in large stream reaches in urban/agriculture-developed watersheds, but mixture compositions and aggregate biological effects are less well understood in corresponding smaller headwaters, which comprise most of stream length, riparian connectivity, and spatial biodiversity. During 2014-2017, the U.S.

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The United States (US) National Park Service (NPS) manages protected public lands to preserve biodiversity. Exposure to and effects of bioactive organic contaminants in NPS streams are challenges for resource managers. Recent assessment of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in protected-streams within the urbanized NPS Southeast Region (SER) indicated the importance of fluvial inflows from external sources as drivers of aquatic contaminant-mixture exposures.

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