Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Karst Groundwater in Southwestern Illinois
Principal Investigator: Walt Kelly
Sponsors: Prairie Research Institute Matching Research Awards Program (MRAP)
Project Period: 2014–2015
The primary objective of this project is to systematically sample springs and caves for pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and other water quality parameters in the karst aquifer of the Sinkhole Plain of southwestern Illinois (Monroe and St. Clair Counties), looking at seasonal and discharge effects and relationships among various chemical and bacterial parameters. This is a multi-Survey project, with researchers from the Water Survey (Walt Kelly), ISTC (Wei Zheng), INHS (Steve Taylor), and ISGS (Sam Panno). On a broader level, we are interested in expanding the PRI’s research capabilities with respect to analysis of PPCPs in water samples and understanding the environmental fate of PPCPs and their effects on aquatic biota. Because such an undertaking requires a multidisciplinary approach, we believe PRI is well positioned to become a center for this type of research.
