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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Your Environment. Your Health.

News Items: University of California-Berkeley

Superfund Research Program

Toxic Substances in the Environment

Center Director: Martyn T. Smith
Grant Number: P42ES004705
Funding Period: 1987-2027
View this project in the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT)

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News Items List

  • Keystone Science Lecture Highlights Framework for Evaluating Hazards
    Environmental Factor - March 2025
    Researchers use evidence from three kinds of studies to determine if a chemical may cause cancer or other adverse outcomes: human studies (epidemiological effects), animal studies (biological effects), and mechanistic studies (how chemicals contribute to disease).
  • Water Contaminants Identified, Addressed in Marginalized Communities
    Environmental Factor - October 2023
    Researchers funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) describe reasons for water contamination disparities, identify current private well disparities, and review how community engagement and interventions like pitcher filters can help protect marginalized communities.
  • Tackling Environmental Health Problems from Many Angles
    Environmental Factor - July 2023
    Current and upcoming research to address complex environmental health issues related to hazardous contaminants and more, headlined the recent NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) Progress in Research webinar series. Over the course of four sessions in April and May, the series highlighted 11 new and renewed SRP multiproject centers funded in 2022.
  • First-of-its-Kind Arsenic Meta-Analysis Paves the Way for Future Data Integration
    Research Brief - September 2021
    Researchers from NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) centers at the University of California (UC), Berkeley and Columbia University used advanced analysis techniques to combine data from populations in Chile and Bangladesh. The purpose was to detect common DNA methylation (DNAm) signatures associated with arsenic exposure.
  • New study sheds light on TCE bioremediation
    Paper of the Month - April 2021
    SRP-funded researchers demonstrated that natural microbial communities amended with acetylene can break down chlorinated contaminants, and in the process, they discovered a new bacteria species. Acetylene, produced in aquifers when certain minerals interact with trichloroethene (TCE), usually interferes with the ability of microbes to dechlorinate TCE. TCE is a chlorinated compound that can contaminate the environment and has been linked to health outcomes like cancer.
  • Toxic Breakdown Products Formed During Contaminant Clean-Up
    Research Brief - September 2020
    Chemical oxidation is a process commonly used to treat water contaminated with aromatic compounds like benzene. But, unexpected and potentially harmful breakdown products may result from this treatment process, according to a recent study from the NIEHS-funded University of California, Berkeley Superfund Research Program Center.
  • Arsenic Complicates Groundwater Bioremediation
    Research Brief - May 2020
    A common groundwater contaminant, trichloroethene (TCE), can be reduced by certain bacteria, a process known as bioremediation. But, according to a new NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) study, this process may stall when arsenic is present. TCE, a widely used industrial solvent, pollutes groundwater from improper handling practices.
  • Endocrine disruptor identification begins with biology
    Environmental Factor - December 2019
    A consensus statement that lays out 10 key characteristics of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) could provide a universal framework for assessing risks these chemicals present. The statement, published Nov. 12 in Nature Reviews Endocrinology, was co-written by NIEHS-funded scientists and funded in part by the Research Translation Core of the NIEHS Superfund Research Center at the University of California at Berkeley.
  • Toxin formed during oxidative water treatment process
    Paper of the Month - April 2018
    Common water treatment methods that remove phenols and other hazardous compounds may produce low levels of toxic byproducts, according to a new study by NIEHS grantees. Phenols, which can contaminate drinking water, are often removed with a water treatment process that converts hydrogen peroxide into hydroxyl radicals using ultraviolet (UV) light. In this process, hydroxyl radicals oxidize the phenols, transforming them into other compounds.
  • Berkeley - thirty years of innovative research in environmental health
    Environmental Factor - March 2018
    For three decades, the Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley SRP) has been at the forefront of important scientific discoveries, launching new programs and research initiatives. At a Jan. 30 event, titled "Celebrating 30 Years of Science for a Safer World," researchers and program partners looked back at the center's history and how it has evolved to meet new research needs.
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Last Reviewed: April 08, 2025