Rachel Coyte

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | NMT

Global Li production will require a ∼500 % increase to meet 2050 projected energy storage demands. One potential source is oil and gas wastewater (i.e., produced water or brine), which naturally has high total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations, that can also be enriched in Li (>100 mg/L). Understanding the sources and mechanisms responsible for...

Geogenic groundwater contaminants (GGCs) affect drinking-water availability and safety, with up to 60% of groundwater sources in some regions contaminated by more than recommended concentrations. As a result, an estimated 300-500 million people are at risk of severe health impacts and premature mortality. In this Review, we discuss the sources, occ...

Gadolinium (Gd), a toxic rare earth element, has been shown to dissociate from chelating agents and bioaccumulate within tissues, raising concerns about the possibility of their remobilization during pregnancy with subsequent free Gd exposures to developing fetuses. Gd chelates are among the most commonly used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contr...

Active volcanoes are a continuous threat for several regions worldwide and cause socio-economic and environmental issues, including the Virunga Volcanic Province (D.R. Congo). There, more than 2 million people are permanently exposed to the hazards of the most active volcanoes in Africa: Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira. However, there is a clear lack of...

Subsurface coal mining often induces the formation of acid mine drainage (AMD) in active and abandoned coal mines while coal combustion generates coal combustion residuals (CCR), including fly ash (FA), with elevated levels of toxic metals. Decades of AMD and CCR production have caused major environmental and human health impacts. Given the typical...

Introduction: There is increasing interest in measuring metals concentrations in human placentas to better understand physiology, disease, and toxic and diagnostic exposures. For these purposes, formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues obtained at clinical pathology examination represent a valuable potential store of well-characterized tiss...

High concentrations of metal(loid)s in phosphate rocks and wastewater associated with phosphate mining and fertilizer production operations pose potential contamination risks to water resources. Here, we propose using Sr isotopes as a tracer to determine possible water quality impacts induced from phosphate mining and fertilizers production. We uti...

As the global population ages and the proportion of individuals afflicted with musculoskeletal disease spirals upward, there is an increasing interest in understanding and preventing bone‐related diseases. Bone diseases, such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, are known to be influenced by a variety of factors including age, gender, nutrition, and...

Subsurface coal mining often induces the formation of acid mine drainage (AMD) in active and abandoned coal mines while coal combustion generates coal combustion residuals (CCR), including fly ash (FA), with elevated levels of toxic metals. Decades of AMD and CCR production have caused major environmental and human health impacts. Given the typical...

This critical review presents the key factors that control the occurrence of natural elements from the uranium- and thorium decay series, also known as naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), including uranium, radium, radon, lead, polonium, and their isotopes in groundwater resources. Given their toxicity and radiation, elevated levels o...

Oilfield water contains valuable information on the origin, migration, and geochemical evolution of fluids in sedimentary basins. Jiuquan Basin is one of the richest oil basins in China and holds large potential for future tight oil exploration. We use a wide range of geochemical and isotopic tracers to evaluate the origin and reconstruct the migra...

The heavily exploited alluvial aquifers of Northwestern India are plagued by multiple quality problems, including high concentrations of boron and uranium. The arid to semiarid environment has contributed to elevated groundwater salinity through high evapotranspiration rates, yet even in areas where irrigation with imported surface water has led to...

The heavily exploited alluvial aquifers of Northwestern India are plagued by multiple quality problems, including high concentrations of boron and uranium. The arid to semiarid environment has contributed to elevated groundwater salinity through high evapotranspiration rates, yet even in areas where irrigation with imported surface water has led to...

The Sustainable Development Goals require that 100 mL water samples contain no culturable E. coli to classify a water supply as “safely managed” from a microbial perspective. But small volume sampling is often insufficient for detecting microbial risks. We used culture-based measures of total coliforms and E. coli along with dead-end ultrafiltratio...

Significance Rapid groundwater depletion represents a significant threat to food and water security because groundwater supplies more than 20% of global water use, especially for crop irrigation. A large swath of the US High Plains, which produces more than 50 million tons of grain yearly, depends on the Ogallala aquifer for more than 90% of its ir...

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is known to occur naturally in shallow oxic groundwater, typically from aquifers associated with mafic and ultramafic formations, but information on the occurrence of Cr(VI) in deep groundwater from large sedimentary basins is limited. This study shows that groundwater from the Baiyangdian Lake Basin (BYB), home to the...

The co-occurrence of contaminants in drinking water may pose enhanced risks to health beyond the effects of single contaminants. Here we investigated the co-occurrence of four health-relevant redox-sensitive elements (U, As, V, and Cr) in 1494 groundwater wells across North Carolina. The highest concentrations of these elements were measured mostly...

Coal ash is one of the largest industrial waste streams in the United States and contains elevated concentrations of hazardous elements that could pose environmental and human health risks. Due to the relatively high strontium concentrations in coal ash and the distinctive ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, Sr isotopes have been utilized to trace coal ash contamina...

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a groundwater contaminant that is potentially harmful to human health. Understanding the occurrence of Cr(VI) in groundwater resources is critical for evaluating its risks to human health. Here we report a large dataset (n = 1362) of Cr(VI) and total chromium (CrT) concentrations in public, private, and monitoring we...

The implementation of chlorine disinfection in low-income countries reduces the risk of waterborne illness but initiates exposure to disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Like high-income countries, low-income countries typically are adopting regulations focusing on trihalomethanes (THM4) as an indicator of overall DBP exposure. However, the use of impai...

Well water is the primary drinking source for nearly a quarter of North Carolina residents. Many communities across the state have been concerned about their well water quality and inorganic contamination. The "Well Empowered" study worked alongside a community in Stokes County, North Carolina to measure toxic metals in their well water as well as...

Northwest India suffers from severe water scarcity issues due to a combination of over-exploitation and climate effects. Along with concerns over water availability, endemic water quality issues are critical and affect the usability of available water and potential human health risks. Here we present data from 243 groundwater wells, representing ni...

Shale gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling is increasing in China, particularly in Sichuan Basin. Production of unconventional shale gas with minimum environmental effects requires adequate management of wastewater from flowback and produced water (FP water) that is co-extracted with natural gas. Here we present, for...

Groundwater over-exploitation has caused massive groundwater depletion and raised concerns for water and food security in India. Groundwater in India also suffers from multiple water quality issues such as arsenic and fluoride contamination, which pose human health risks. Here we report new data showing that uranium occurrence in Indian groundwater...

Shale gas is likely to play a major role in China's transition away from coal. In addition to technological and infrastructural constraints, the main challenges to China's sustainable shale gas development are sufficient shale gas production, water availability, and adequate wastewater management. Here we present, for the first time, actual data of...

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a known pulmonary carcinogen. Recent detection of Cr(VI) in drinking water wells in North Carolina has raised public concern about contamination of drinking water wells by nearby coal ash ponds. Here we report, for the first time, the prevalence of Cr and Cr(VI) in drinking water wells from the Piedmont region of cen...