Preface; Contents; Introduction to the Conference; 1 Contaminated Groundwater in Karst: Why Is It an Issue? An Introduction to the KWI San Juan Conference; Abstract; 1 The Issue; 2 Karst Aquifers: What's Special?; 3 The Conference; 4 How to Address the Issue of Contaminated Karst Groundwater; 4.1 Step One: Characterize the Specific Karst Aquifer of Interest; 4.2 Step Two: How Do the Various Types of Contaminants Move?; 4.3 Step Three: What Is the Threat to Public Health and What to Do About It?; References

2 Public Health and Karst Groundwater Contamination: From Multidisciplinary Research to Exposure PreventionAbstract; 1 Introduction: Karst Contamination-A Global Concern; 2 Understanding Karst Contamination Issues Requires Multidisciplinary Research Framework; 3 Future Directions: Drinking Water Protections in the USA and Karst Aquifers; 4 Summary and Conclusions; References; Keynote Papers; 3 Team Science Applied to Environmental Health Research: Karst Hydrogeology and Preterm Birth in Puerto Rico; Abstract; 1 Introduction; 2 Approach; 3 Integration of Disciplines; 4 Preliminary Results

4.1 Contamination in the Study Area4.2 Epidemiologic Association Between Target Contaminants and Preterm Birth; 4.3 Mechanistic Association Between Target Contaminants and Preterm Birth; 5 Discussion; Acknowledgements; References; 4 Flow Routing in the Karst of Puerto Rico; Abstract; 1 Introduction; 2 Karst Areas; 2.1 North Karst; 2.2 Karst of the South Coast Tertiary Rocks; 2.3 Karst of the Interior Cretaceous Rocks; 3 Cave Conduits as Trash and Contaminant Pathways; 4 Summary; References

5 Fate, Transport, and Exposure of Emerging and Legacy Contaminants in Karst Systems: State of Knowledge and UncertaintyAbstract; 1 Introduction and Background; 1.1 Karst Environments; 1.2 Contamination, Fate and Transport, and Exposure in Karst Aquifers; 2 Fate and Transport Processes; 3 Potential Contaminant Exposure; 4 Case Studies; 4.1 Karst Region of Northern Puerto Rico (KRNPR); 4.2 Continental Karst; 5 Modeling Contaminant Transport in Karst Aquifers; 5.1 Overview; 5.2 Challenges in Coupling Contaminant Transport to Flow in Models; 6 Conclusions; Acknowledgements; References

6 Puerto Rico's Karst Protection-Beyond the Laws and RegulationsAbstract; 1 Puerto Rico's Karst Background; 2 Beyond the Laws and Regulations; 3 Efforts to Recognize Rights and Intrinsic Value of Nature; 7 Contaminant Transport in Karst Aquifers: Systematics and Mechanisms; Abstract; 1 Introduction; 1.1 Unique Hydrologic Aspects of Karst Aquifers; 1.2 Potential Contamination Sources; 2 Conceptual Models and Hydrodynamics of Karstic Aquifers; 2.1 Allogenic Inputs (Sinking Streams); 2.2 Closed Depressions and the Epikarst; 2.3 The Conduit System; 2.4 The Primary Porosity and Fracture System