Superfund Research Program

Members of the research team set up an air quality monitoring device outside a Colfax resident’s home. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Richmond-Bryant)

Community stories about pollution were found to overlap the locations of a burn facility’s smoke plume, helping SRP-funded scientists improve their exposure assessment technique. Researchers at Louisiana State University SRP Center, North Carolina State University SRP Center, and Tulane University engaged with residents in Colfax, Louisiana, and local community partners to characterize the community’s concerns about exposure to environmental pollutants from a nearby commercial open burn/open detonation thermal hazardous waste treatment facility. The facility processes military ordnances, fireworks, propellants, and waste from Superfund sites.

A June 2022 paper describes how the researchers recorded oral histories with community members and mapped their locations. They then compared residents’ complaints to toxicological data showing a more complete picture of how contaminants spread geographically from the burn facility.

Read more in the PEPH Newsletter.