News Items: Columbia University

Superfund Research Program

Health Effects and Geochemistry of Arsenic

Center Director: Ana Navas-Acien
Grant Number: P42ES010349
Funding Period: 2000-2021

News Items List

• Clay Layers May Worsen Arsenic Contamination
  Research Brief - July 2020
  Layers of clay are widely thought to protect groundwater aquifers from above-ground contaminants. But according to a new NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) study, these clay layers may play a role in increasing groundwater arsenic contamination.
  

• SRP Centers Combat COVID-19
  SRP News Page - June 2020
  NIEHS SRP Centers across the country are contributing their expertise to respond to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. From increasing testing capacity and improving personal protective equipment to creating online tools and outreach materials, SRP researchers are fighting COVID-19 from the local to the global level.
  

• Inverting Soil Decreases Arsenic and Improves Rice Yields
  SRP News Page - May 2019
  By exchanging high-arsenic soil at the surface with deeper low-arsenic soil, researchers from the Columbia University Superfund Research Program (SRP) have demonstrated increased rice crop yields in Bangladesh. This approach, called soil inversion, increased rice yields 15 - 30 percent compared to plots that were not inverted. The team, led by Alexander van Geen, Ph.D., also reported that arsenic concentrations remained lower over four seasons of monitoring.
  

• SRP Grantees Discuss Kidney Disease at NIH Workshop
  SRP News Page - July 2018
  Clinicians, basic scientists, epidemiologists, and public health officials met June 25 - 26 to develop a coordinated research agenda for a growing epidemic of chronic kidney diseases. The workshop, held in Bethesda, Maryland, was jointly sponsored by NIEHS and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
  

• Eight Northeast SRP Centers Convene at Regional Meeting
  SRP News Page - April 2018
  The Northeast Superfund Research Program (SRP) Meeting brought together eight SRP Centers to discuss collaborations and network. Held in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on March 26 - 27, the meeting included scientific presentations and poster sessions.
  

• SRP Research Finds Ancestry-Based Differences in Telomere Length Genes
  SRP News Page - February 2018
  People with different ancestries may inherit telomere length differently, according to a new study from the Columbia University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center. Telomeres are segments at the end of DNA, and telomere length plays an important role in aging and aging-related diseases. This study provides new information about the genes associated with telomere length across populations and highlights the importance of including diverse populations in genome-wide association studies (GWAS).
  

• Arsenic Conference Explores Multidisciplinary Approaches to Protecting Human Health
  SRP News Page - December 2017
  On Nov. 2 - 3, researchers, stakeholders, and government officials met in Hanoi, Vietnam, to discuss the sources and health effects of arsenic and to explore multidisciplinary remediation strategies for the U.S. and around the world. Sponsored in part by the Columbia University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center, the goal of the symposium was to develop strategies to reduce arsenic exposure and related diseases.
  

• Arsenic exposure declines after new EPA regulations
  Paper of the Month - December 2017
  NIEHS grantees reported that after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lowered the limit for arsenic levels in drinking water, exposure to arsenic dropped significantly among people using public water systems in the U.S. Because arsenic exposure is associated with higher rates of several types of cancer, the researchers estimated that reduced exposure was equivalent to a reduction of 200 to 900 lung and bladder cancer cases or 50 cases of skin cancer per year. They observed no improvements in arsenic exposure rates among users of private wells, which are not federally regulated.
  

• Arsenic declines in public drinking water
  Environmental Factor - November 2017
  NIEHS-funded researchers reported that exposure to arsenic in drinking water was significantly reduced among Americans using public water systems after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lowered maximum levels of arsenic in 2006.
  

• Unique opportunities to study health effects of arsenic and more
  Environmental Factor - October 2017
  In a Sept. 14 talk for the Keystone Science Seminar Series, Habibul Ahsan, M.D., described innovative research approaches, such as building strong networks in the community, to help tackle human health impacts from toxicants in areas where resources are low.
  

• Susceptibility to Arsenic-Induced Skin Lesions Influenced by DNA Differences
  Research Brief - September 2017
  New research shows that deletions or duplications of long stretches of DNA, also known as copy number variations (CNVs), that occur in several gene locations are associated with a higher risk of developing arsenic-induced skin lesions. Skin lesions are a hallmark of arsenic toxicity that appear relatively early with chronic arsenic exposure. This newly discovered link may help to explain why some people exposed to arsenic develop skin lesions and get sick while others exposed to the same levels do not.
  

• Northeast SRP Researchers Gather to Discuss Research and Opportunities for Collaboration
  SRP News Page - April 2017
  On April 4 and 5, SRP researchers from institutions across the northeast gathered in Boston for the Northeast Superfund Research Program (SRP) Meeting. The event was hosted by the Northeastern University PROTECT SRP Center and co-sponsored by SRP Centers from Boston University, Brown University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Pennsylvania.
  

• Importance of Young Dissolved Organic Carbon to the Release of Arsenic in Aquifers
  Research Brief - September 2016
  Carbon from relatively new sources of organic material on the surface, or young carbon, can stimulate microbial communities deep in aquifers, leading to the release of arsenic into water, according to a recent field study by Columbia University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center researchers. The researchers found that near-surface sources of organic carbon are central in microbial metabolism, even in aquifers that are far below and separated from the land where carbon is derived.
  

• Six promising Superfund trainees receive K.C. Donnelly awards
  Environmental Factor - September 2016
  Six promising NIEHS-funded Superfund Research Program (SRP) trainees were awarded K.C. Donnelly Externship Award Supplements to fund their research at other institutions. The annual award, now in its sixth year, honors the memory of longtime SRP grantee and environmental health researcher Kirby (K.C.) Donnelly, Ph.D.
  

• SRP Grantees Moderates Smartphone Apps for Citizen Scientists Workshop
  SRP News Page - November 2015
  Smartphones are revolutionizing the collection and sharing of environmental data, but their potential as tools for citizen science is vastly under-utilized. To help promote and optimize use of mobile applications, the Earth Institute at Columbia University is hosting a series of workshops, which began October 13, looking at Smartphone Apps for Citizen Scientists.
  

• Assessing and Reducing Health Risks from Arsenic in Private Well Water
  Research Brief - February 2015
  We are at a crossroads when it comes to reducing the risk of adverse health outcomes from arsenic in private well water in the United States, according to Yan Zheng, Ph.D., professor at the City University of New York and community engagement leader at the Columbia University Superfund Research Program (CU SRP), and Joseph Ayotte, P.G., a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist.
  

• Workshop advances arsenic research and prevention
  Environmental Factor - April 2014
  The NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) hosted a meeting March 3-4 that gave scientists across a range of disciplines a venue for laying the foundation for the next generation of arsenic research.