Avner Vengosh

Nicholas Distinguished Professor of Environmental Quality

Avner Vengosh is a Duke University Distinguished Professor of Environmental Quality at the Nicholas School of the Environment.  Professor Vengosh and his team have studied the energy-water nexus, conducting pioneer research on the impact of hydraulic fracturing and coal ash disposal on the quantity and quality of water resources in the U.S. and China. He has also investigated the sources and mechanisms of water contamination in numerous countries across the globe, including salinity and radioactivity in the Middle East, uranium in India, fluoride in Eastern Africa, arsenic in Vietnam, and hexavalent chromium in North Carolina and China. As part of these studies, his team has developed novel geochemical and isotopic tracers that are used as fingerprints to delineate the sources of water contamination and evaluate potential risks for human health. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and International Association of Geochemistry (IAGC). In 2019, 2020 and 2021 he was recognized as one of the Web of Science Highly Cited Researchers. He serves as an Editor of GeoHealth and on the editorial board of the journal Environmental Science and Technology. He has published 165 scientific papers in leading international journals. His recent cross-disciplinary book “Water Quality Impacts of the Energy-Water Nexus” (Cambridge University Press, 2020) provides an integrated assessment of the different scientific and policy tools around the energy-water nexus. It focuses on how water use, and wastewater and waste solids produced from fossil fuel energy production affect water quality and quantity. Summarizing cutting edge research, the book describes the scientific methods for detecting contamination sources in the context of policy and regulations.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Nicholas Distinguished Professor of Environmental Quality
• Professor of Environmental Quality
• Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke Kunshan University
• Research Professor of Global Health
• Faculty Network Member of The Energy Initiative

Contact Information

• Office Location: 308 Research Drive, A-207 LSRC, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 681-8050
• Email Address: vengosh@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Vengosh lab web site

Education

• Ph.D. Australian National University (Australia), 1990
• M.S. Hebrew University (Israel), 1986
• B.S. Hebrew University (Israel), 1984

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Leadership award by the Water-Rock Interaction (WRI) Working Group, . International Association of Geochemistry. 2019
• Paper “Large-scale Uranium Contamination of Groundwater Resources in India” was selected as one of the best papers for 2018 . Editors of Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 2019
• Paper “The geochemistry of naturally occurring methane and saline groundwater in an area of unconventional shale gas development” was selected to be the winner of the 2018 Dalway Swaine Award. Society for Organic Petrology . 2018
• Geological Society of America (GSA) Fellow. Geological Society of America. 2015

Courses Taught

• ECS 220: Water Sciences: Principles and Challenges
• ECS 524: Water Quality Health
• ENERGY 524: Water Quality Health
• ENVIRON 220: Water Sciences: Principles and Challenges
• ENVIRON 524: Water Quality Health
• ENVIRON 899: Master's Project
• ENVIRON 997: Duke Environmental Leadership: Independent Studies and Projects
• EOS 220: Water Sciences: Principles and Challenges
• EOS 393: Research Independent Study
• EOS 394: Research Independent Study
• EOS 524: Water Quality Health
• EOS 791: Independent Study
• GLHLTH 534: Water Quality Health

In the News

• North Carolina Lake Sediments Show Decades of Coal Ash Contamination (Sep 30, 2022)
• Rooftop Solar Cells Can Be a Boon for Water Conservation Too (Sep 21, 2022)
• New Tests Track Sources of Lead Contamination in Urban Soils and Assess Its Risks (Nov 17, 2021 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• New Tests Can Detect Tiny but Toxic Particles of Coal Ash in Soil (Jul 26, 2021 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Duke Awards 22 Distinguished Professorships (Jun 28, 2021)
• High Levels of Toxic Metals Found in Coal Ash from Dominican Republic Power Plant (Mar 17, 2021 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• What's in North Carolina Drinking Water? (Feb 7, 2020)
• Half of Piedmont Drinking Wells May Exceed NC’s Standards for Cancer-Causing Chemical (Nov 12, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• New Tool to Track Toxic Coal Dust Can Help Protect Communities at Risk (Oct 22, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• To Save Billions of Gallons of Water, Replace Coal with Gas or Renewables (Oct 22, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Duke Study: EPA’s Proposed Coal Ash Amendments Will Boost Risk of Toxic Contamination (Sep 30, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Duke Researchers Find Evidence of Multiple Unmonitored Coal Ash Spills in N.C. Lake (Jun 3, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• To Track Coal Ash Contamination, Look for Fish Bones (Jan 10, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• After Florence: Duke Faculty Contribution to Relief Planning (Sep 24, 2018)
• Fracking's Water Footprint: Water Use Increases By Up to 770 Percent in Five Years (Aug 15, 2018 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Widespread Uranium Contamination Found in India's Groundwater (Jun 7, 2018 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Avner Vengosh to Testify at April 25 Congressional Briefing on EPA Coal Ash Amendments (Apr 24, 2018 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Some Coal Ash from China Too Radioactive for Reuse (Nov 9, 2017 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• High Molybdenum in Wisconsin Wells Not from Coal Ash (Nov 1, 2017 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• West Virginia Groundwater Not Affected by Fracking, but Surface Water Is (Apr 24, 2017 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Nicholas Research Explores Impacts of Using Oilfield Wastewater for Irrigation (Jan 17, 2017)
• Hexavalent Chromium is Widespread in N.C. Wells but Not Linked to Coal Ash (Oct 26, 2016)
• Study: Coal ash not culprit for cancer-causing contaminant (Oct 25, 2016 | ABC News, AP)
• Duke University tests find leaching from ash sites, including two in Va. (Jun 13, 2016 | The Daily Progress)
• Coal Ash Ponds Found to Leak Toxic Chemicals (Jun 10, 2016)
• Duke study finds a ‘legacy of radioactivity,’ contamination from fracking wastewater spills (May 11, 2016 | Truth-Out)
• Scientists say oilfield wastewater spills release toxin (Apr 28, 2016 | US News & World Report)
• Contamination in North Dakota Linked to Fracking Spills (Apr 27, 2016)
• Duke Kunshan Workshop Explores Water Impacts Of Unconventional Energy Production In China (Oct 20, 2015)
• Two-Day Workshop To Focus On Water Impacts Of Energy Production In China (Oct 13, 2015)
• Study: Water demand from fracking less than 1 percent of U.S. total (Sep 16, 2015 | Reuters)
• How Much Water Does U.S. Fracking Really Use? (Sep 15, 2015)
• Radioactive Coal Ash; Pub in West Union: The Week at Duke {in 60 Seconds} (Sep 10, 2015)
• Coal ash contains radioactive contaminants, Duke University researchers say (Sep 3, 2015 | WNCN)
• Scientists discovered high levels of radioactivity in a common form of waste (Sep 3, 2015 | ThinkProgress)
• Radioactive Contaminants Found In Coal Ash (Sep 3, 2015)
• Q-and-A with Avner Vengosh on hydraulic fracturing and water quality (Sep 2, 2015 | American Scientist)
• Avner Vengosh comments: In California, farmers rely on oil wastewater to weather drought (Apr 6, 2015 | Newsweek)
• Gas industry's solution to toxic wastewater: Spray it on roads (Mar 3, 2015 | Newsweek)
• New Contaminants Found In Oil And Gas Wastewater (Jan 14, 2015)
• Study: High levels of pollutants from drilling waste found in Pa. rivers (Jan 14, 2015 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Avner Vengosh comments: EPA sets rules on coal ash for first time (Dec 22, 2014 | The Anniston Star)

Representative Publications

• Vengosh, A; Coyte, RM; Podgorski, J; Johnson, TM, A critical review on the occurrence and distribution of the uranium- and thorium-decay nuclides and their effect on the quality of groundwater., The Science of the Total Environment, vol 808 (2022) [10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151914] [abs].
• Vengosh, A; Weinthal, APOEPE, Water Quality Impacts of the Energy-Water Nexus (2021) [abs].