Superfund Research Program


March 2023

mine tailingsMine tailings at a Superfund site in Arizona. (Photo courtesy of Julie Neilson)

For the past two decades, researchers with the University of Arizona SRP Center have been studying human exposures to mining waste and how to improve site remediation in the Southwest.

“Native Americans and Hispanics in the Southwest have a higher rate of diabetes than Native Americans and Hispanics elsewhere in the United States,” said Center Director Raina Maier, Ph.D. “Those are both populations that are underserved and disproportionately exposed to mining waste, because mining often occurs near their communities.”

To learn more about their work, see the Global Environmental Health Newsletter.