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The goal of this project is to identify and quantify the environmental fate and transport of steroid hormones, veterinary antibiotics, and their metabolites released from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). It will help fulfill the USDA's long-term goal to minimize environmental contamination from veterinary pharmaceuticals and animal hormones in soil and water, and thereby protect and maintain valuable water supplies for agricultural irrigation and livestock production.
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The specific objectives of this proposal are to: <OL> <LI> Identify and quantify the fundamental chemical, physical, and biological processes relevant to steroid hormones and veterinary antibiotics in the environment;<LI> Assess a colloid-facilitated transport model for predicting the fate and transport of representative hormones and antibiotics in the environment; <LI> Validate proposed management strategies to minimize the load of hormone and antibiotic contaminants from CAFOs into the environment.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The frequent occurrence of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) such as hormones and antibiotics in water bodies is an emerging environmental issue in the United States. Animal farms, especially for CAFOs, have been identified as one of the most important sources for the release of animal hormones and veterinary antibiotics into the environment. Finding effective and sustainable strategies for reducing these contaminants and protecting water supplies is one of the most challenging tasks facing U.S. agriculture today. This project provides a unique effort to improve the understanding concerning the fate and transport of farm animal hormones and veterinary pharmaceuticals in soil, surface and ground water, and irrigation systems of agricultural and rural watersheds. Also, this project will assist in developing methodologies to identify contamination sources, assess CAFO systems, and develop feasible and sustainable management strategies to minimize the environmental loading of veterinary pharmaceuticals and animal hormones from CAFOs.
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APPROACH: The research will involve a combination of laboratory, field, and numerical modeling experiments using representative steroid hormones and veterinary antibiotics as well as dairy and beef wastes. First, the analytical methods for steroid hormones, veterinary antibiotics, and their metabolites will be developed and optimized. Second, laboratory batch experiments will be conducted to elucidate fundamental chemical, physical, and biological processes and mechanisms of manure-associated steroid hormones and veterinary antibiotics derived from dairy and beef farms in the environment. Third, column experiments will be performed to demonstrate colloid-facilitated transport of selected hormones and antibiotics for model simulation. Fourth, the occurrence of steroid hormones and veterinary antibiotics in water bodies surrounding dairy and beef farms will be monitored.