Superfund Research Program
PAHs: New Technologies and Emerging Health Risks
Center Director: Robyn L. Tanguay
Grant Number: P42ES016465
Funding Period: 2009-2025
Program Links
News Items List
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SRP Centers Host Summer Programs in Environmental Health
SRP News Page - November 2023
Two core goals of multi-project NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) centers are community engagement and research training. Summer programs provide opportunities for center researchers and trainees to serve as mentors and share their work with the community and for students of all ages, from elementary school to college, to learn more about environmental health and research.
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Silicone Wristbands Track Hundreds of Unique Chemical Exposures
Environmental Factor - August 2023
With funding from the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) and other NIEHS programs, researchers at the Oregon State University (OSU) SRP Center developed a simple, non-invasive approach to monitor personal chemical exposures using silicone wristbands. The highly sensitive wristbands can be used to measure exposure to low levels of hundreds of chemicals, offering a unique tool to better understand the complex mixtures people may be exposed to throughout daily life.
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SRP Centers Share Science With Students
SRP News Page - May 2023
A key goal of the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) is to train future generations of scientists - in the lab and in the community. SRP Centers across the country have been doing just that, participating in community events to teach school-aged children about science.
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SRP Highlighted at SOT
SRP News Page - April 2023
NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded scientists from across the country gathered in person for the 2023 Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting to share their research and exchange ideas. Held March 19 - 23 in Nashville, Tennessee, the 62nd SOT meeting and ToxExpo drew more than 5,000 attendees who gave more than 2,000 presentations and participated in more than 70 sessions.
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SRP Shines at SOT
SRP News Page - April 2022
NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees from across the country gathered in person and virtually for the 2022 Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting, held March 27-31 in San Diego. The meeting highlighted diverse, cutting-edge research.
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Community-engaged research addresses health concerns on tribal lands
SRP News Page - November 2021
Approximately 500,000 Native Americans live within three miles of a Superfund site. The NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) has long supported community-engaged research with Native American communities to identify strategies to reduce exposures and protect their health. To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, this article recognizes how some SRP researchers address community concerns in Tribal lands.
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Scientific art competition showcases trainees' research, imagination
Environmental Factor - September 2021
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced university laboratories to shut down or go remote, the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) created an opportunity for trainees to celebrate their research efforts and the stories behind them. Led by SRP Health Scientist Administrator Danielle Carlin, Ph.D., SRP hosted a scientific art competition for trainees.
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Trainees Get Creative During the Pandemic
SRP News Page - July 2021
When in-person events, classes, and research activities were put on hold due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded trainees got creative and identified unique opportunities to pursue safely during the pandemic. With support from their mentors, SRP trainees gained experience across multiple scientific fields, conducted research in a collaborative environment, and engaged with diverse stakeholders and community members.
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Analyzing Chemicals and Genes Yields Novel Insight into PAH Behavior
Research Brief - July 2021
A new NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study revealed how polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) breakdown and transform in the presence of ultraviolet A (UVA) light and titanium dioxide nanoparticle pollutants. Their findings have important implications for PAH cleanup, which may not consider how PAHs transform in diverse environments.
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Innovating Environmental Health Communication
SRP News Page - June 2021
Former Oregon State University (OSU) SRP Center trainee Diana Rohlman, Ph.D., discussed creative approaches for culturally sensitive community engagement and research translation.
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Predicting cancer-causing potential of PAH chemicals
Paper of the Month - December 2020
NIEHS-funded scientists have developed a method to better predict the cancer-causing potential of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a class of more than 1,500 chemicals that result from combustion of organic matter and fossil fuels. PAH exposures occur as complex environmental mixtures, making it difficult to tease apart the cancer-causing potential of individual chemicals in the mixture.
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K.C. Donnelly Externships awarded to outstanding Superfund trainees
Environmental Factor - August 2020
Eleven outstanding trainees in the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) have won K.C. Donnelly Externship Award Supplements. The annual awards allow trainees to work side-by-side with experts at an outside institution to learn new methods and techniques to enrich their research.
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Model Predicts PAH Levels in Important Tribal Food Source
Research Brief - July 2019
A sediment passive sampling model can be used to accurately predict the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in butter clams, according to a recent Superfund Research Program (SRP) study. Led by Kim Anderson, Ph.D., of the Oregon State University (OSU) SRP Center, the research team worked closely with tribal leaders to better predict PAH levels in butter clams while having a minimal impact on this important resource.
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Arsenic may interfere with pregnancy and children's health
Environmental Factor - July 2019
"Arsenic is a reproductive toxicant," said Molly Kile, Sc.D., from Oregon State University (OSU), during a May 28 talk in the NIEHS Keystone Science Lecture Seminar Series.
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PAH cleanup may worsen toxicity
Environmental Factor - October 2018
According to research by Staci Simonich, Ph.D., some of the products formed during the breakdown of pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may be more toxic than the original compounds.
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Connection between genes, response to environmental chemicals
Paper of the Month - September 2018
NIEHS grantees developed a new method to identify individual-level genetic variation in response to chemical exposures. The approach, which linked zebrafish studies and bioinformatic approaches, might help identify new genetic factors that explain differences in chemical sensitivity.
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Hurricane responses build on community connections
Environmental Factor - October 2017
NIEHS resources are playing a vital role in helping protect health in the aftermath of the August and September hurricanes, and they will help reduce environmental health impacts of future disasters.
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New tools improve exposure and risk assessments
Environmental Factor - May 2017
Advances in chemistry, physics, cell biology, and computational modeling provide unique opportunities to improve human health risk assessments, according to Richard Corley, Ph.D. In an April 6 talk for the NIEHS Keystone Science Lecture series, he discussed cutting-edge technologies that make scientific predictions more relevant to humans and real-world conditions. For example, a new model of how air pollutants move through the atmosphere indicates that they stay in the air longer and travel farther than previous models have predicted.
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Pavement sealcoat products may be more toxic than suspected
Paper of the Month - July 2016
A study supported in part by NIEHS showed that certain pavement sealcoats used on asphalt driveways and parking lots are significantly more toxic and mutagenic than previously suspected.
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Oregon State University Superfund program completes pilot assistance project
Environmental Factor - October 2014
A tool to educate K-8 students about mercury in the environment and its effects on human health is now online, thanks to a collaboration between the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) at Oregon State University (OSU), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the London School in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
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Silicone wristbands facilitate exposome study
Environmental Factor - April 2014
As the environmental health science field strives to better understand the complexity of personal chemical exposures, NIEHS-funded researchers at the Oregon State University (OSU) Superfund Research Program (SRP) led by Kim Anderson, Ph.D., have developed a simple wristband and extraction method that can test exposure to 1,200 chemicals.
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Study identifies novel compounds more mutagenic than parent PAHs
Environmental Factor - February 2014
Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) have discovered novel breakdown products that form when specific high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) chemically interact with nitrogen.