October 2009 – Antibiotics and Other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in Groundwater Can Travel Far from Sources
USGS scientists report that results of sampling from a treated-wastewater plume and field experiments indicate that antibiotics and other organic wastewater contaminants in groundwater can travel far from their sources. An antibiotic compound, sulfamethoxazole, was detected several kilometers from its source at the wastewater-disposal site. Tracer experiments in which several pharmaceuticals and personal-care products were injected into the aquifer demonstrated that the persistence of these compounds was dependent of the geochemical and microbiological conditions in the aquifer (Barber and others, 2009).

February 2009 – Prevalence of Tumors Is Elevated in Brown Bullhead from Several Lakes on Western Cape Cod
Scientists from the USGS, the USEPA, and the MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife report that the prevalence of external tumors in brown bullhead from Ashumet Pond near the Massachusetts Military Reservation is significantly elevated relative to the prevalences in nearby ponds and uncontaminated sites in the Great Lakes basin. Brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) are a species of catfish that are common in eastern lakes and rivers and often are used as indicators of environmental health. Although examination of the tumors and blood DNA suggests a chemical causation, further study would be needed to fully address potential causes (Baumann and others, 2008).

January 2009 – Cape Cod Toxics Work Presented at Joint USGS/USEPA Meeting in San Diego on Point-Source Groundwater Contamination
Scientists from the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and the USEPA Technical Support forums met in San Diego, CA, in January 2009 to discuss the latest technical knowledge and methods for characterizing and remediating point-source groundwater contamination. Cape Cod scientists presented an overview of current understanding and research directions on physical transport of contaminants in unconsolidated aquifers; and findings from research at the Cape Cod site on biogeochemical processes, the transport of metals and minor elements, the occurrence and fate of trace organic chemicals, and microbial transport in the subsurface. The meeting agenda and selected presentations are available online.

December 2008 – Long-Term Multidisciplinary Studies at Cape Cod Site Described at Technical Conference
The long-term, multidisciplinary studies of the fate and transport of contaminants in groundwater were the subject of an invited presentation at the 2008 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. The presentation and accompanying abstract described the field site, the research approach, and examples of findings to date.

October 2008 – Project Scientist Participates in Water Forum at The Discovery Museums
Denis LeBlanc, coordinator of the USGS Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology project, participated with other water-resources and education professionals, in a Water Forum at The Discovery Museums in Acton, MA. The purpose of the forum was to explore ideas for exhibits and programs at the museum. The Discovery Museums – complementary childrens and science museums on the same campus – are internationally recognized for their interactive exhibits and inquiry-based, hands-on approach to science learning.

August 2007 –Tracer Tests and Sampling of Wastewater Plume Are Highlights of Ongoing Field Season
During June-September 2007, Cape Cod Toxics scientists are using groundwater tracer experiments to examine denitrification in the presence of dissolved iron, the chemotaxis of mobile subsurface bacteria, and the development of antibiotic resistance of subsurface bacteria exposed to antibiotics typically present in municipal wastewater. The Cape Cod group also is conducting an extensive sampling of the wastewater plume to examine the hydrologic and geochemical evolution of the plume since the plume was first described in 1978-79.

June 2007 – Chemotactic Bacteria May Be Able to “Swim” Toward Groundwater Contaminants
Cape Cod Toxics scientists report in a recent issue of Advances in Water Resources that some groundwater bacteria may be able to “swim” in the direction of increasing concentrations of some chemicals. This chemotactic response may be useful for biorestoration of contaminated aquifers. Field experiments are ongoing at the Cape Cod site to study this microbial transport process in granular aquifers (Ford and Harvey, 2007).

April 2007 - LeBlanc Presents the MIT Freeman Lecture
Denis LeBlanc, coordinator of the Cape Cod Toxics Site, presented the 2007 John R. Freeman Lecture at MIT on April 6. The talk, titled "Cape Cod's Billion Dollar Groundwater Cleanup - The Hydrologic Story," was well-attended by a diverse group of environmental professionals from the academic, regulatory, scientific, and consulting communities. The annual Freeman Lecture is sponsored by the Boston Society of Civil Engineers and the MIT Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering (http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/capecodclean.html).

March 2007 - Presentations Given by Cape Toxics Scientists at Scientific Meeting
Findings from the Cape Cod Toxics Site were described in presentations at the 2007 Northeastern Section GSA Meeting in Durham, NH, in March 2007. Denis LeBlanc organized a special session on the effects of aquifer recharge with treated wastewater and urban runoff on groundwater quality. Work from Cape Cod on the natural restoration of a treated-wastewater plume, borehole-dilution tests, phosphorus removal by a geochemical barrier, and numerical modeling to estimate nitrate loading to coastal estuaries was presented.

February 2007 - Cape Cod Toxics Site Meeting
More than 25 people participated in the annual Cape Cod Toxics Site research meeting, which was held at the MMR on February 13-15, 2007. The participants included USGS scientists from the water, geology, and biology disciplines, university colleagues, DOD managers of the MMR cleanup, and USEPA and MADEP staff.

December 2006 - Cape Cod Toxics Site Releases Newly Designed Website
The Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology Site has redesigned its website to provide more up-to-date and complete information about past and ongoing research at the site. The new site includes links to the project's publications, selected data sets, web pages of individual researchers, and associated projects with the Department of Defense agencies cleaning up ground water at the Massachusetts Military Reservation.

October 2006 - USGS Scientist Describes Advances of Importance to Aquifer Storage and Recovery Projects in the Science and Technology of Microbial Communities in Groundwater
Ronald Harvey was an invited speaker at the meeting, "Aquifer Storage and Recovery VI," which was held in Orlando, FL, on October 16-17, 2006, and organized by the American Groundwater Trust. His talk was titled, "A National Perspective on New Technology, Innovative Methods, and Future Directions with Respect to Research on Microbial Communities in Groundwater." Many of the innovation methods he described were developed at the Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology Research Site. More information can be found at http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2007/03/meetings.html.

October 2006 - Cape Cod Toxics talks presented at the 2006 GSA Meeting
Cape Cod Toxics scientists presented three talks at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on October 22-25, 2006. The topics included an overview of multidisciplinary study of contaminant transport at the Cape site, the development and use of fluorescing proteins to study bacterial transport in groundwater, and the use of stochastic methods to improve groundwater-flow model calibration on Western Cape Cod.

Feb. 2006 - Natural Attenuation Decreasing Nitrogen and Organic Carbon Concentrations in Treated-Wastewater Plume
Cape Cod Toxics scientists report in the February 2006 issue of Environmental Science & Technology that natural attenuation processes are gradually diminishing concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, and dissolved organic carbon in the wastewater-contaminated zone near the abandoned disposal beds. They identify ammonium nitrification and nitrate denitrification as important microbial processes cleaning up the contaminated zone.