Project Summary (2009-2011)

The overall goal of the program is to understand the relationships between the origin, mechanisms of formation, nature of emissions, biological availability, and biological activity of toxic combustion by-products so that improved, health effect engineered, thermal treatment technologies can be developed and intelligent risk-based decisions can be made concerning on-site vs. off-site treatment and thermal vs. non-thermal treatment options of Superfund Wastes. The purpose of the research translation core is to ensure that the knowledge gained in the research activities are disseminated widely to technical professionals in the medical and emergency response professions, regulating and regulated communities, and the general public, including communities affected by hazardous wastes and thermal treatment of wastes, academia and the new media. The goal is to ensure that the program's research is appropriately applied to current environmental and health issues and, in particular, to the effective management of thermal treatment of Superfund wastes to minimize and control exposure and risk.

Specific aims of the Research Translation Core include:

1. establishment of a traditional scientific communication plan, including website and publications,
2. development of a plan for communicating to broad audiences through partnering with stakeholders,
3. coordination of workshops, short symposia, and web-based symposia , with a particular focus on the healthcare community,
4. development of advanced communication tools, and
5. establishment of a technology transfer plan.

The Louisiana State University (LSU) Research Translation team will work with technology transfer specialists at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) to develop web-based materials such as factsheets, research briefs and presentations. The research translation core will also utilize a new genre of interaction, collaboration, and visualization hardware and software environment which is now under development at LSU. An important venue for research communication will be the International Congress on Combustion By-Products, which is currently managed at LSU. The core will partner with several health professional organizations, such as the The American Lung Association of Louisiana, in translating research findings to emergency response and healthcare practice.