Superfund Research Program
- 339 - New Model Estimates PFAS Exposures From Contaminated Drinking Water -- Chiu
Release Date: 03/01/2023Researchers partially funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) developed a model to estimate individual exposure to four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) commonly found in drinking water. The model integrates published data from multiple studies on PFAS levels in human blood along with measured PFAS concentrations in drinking water. Tools for estimating PFAS exposure from contaminated drinking water can inform public health risk assessments and advisories.
- 330 - Study Sheds Light on Breakdown Products of PCBs in the Environment -- Hornbuckle
Release Date: 06/01/2022NIEHS Superfund Research program (SRP) grantees discovered toxic breakdown products of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in contaminated sediments at proportionally higher levels than found in commercial PCB mixtures. According to the team, these findings point to environmental processes, such as metabolism by animals, plants, or bacteria, in generating the harmful chemicals.
- 328 - Sampling Device May Predict Methylmercury Accumulation in Wetlands -- Hsu-Kim
Release Date: 04/06/2022NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded researchers, led by Heileen Hsu-Kim, Ph.D., of the Duke University SRP Center, showed that a small plastic sampling device can efficiently predict the potential for methylmercury — an environmental contaminant — to form in freshwater wetlands and to accumulate in organisms living there.
- 325 - Biosensor Helps Characterize Contaminants and Health Risks Following Disasters -- Unger, Knap
Release Date: 01/05/2022A sophisticated biosensor may provide information about contaminant distribution in the aftermath of natural disasters, according to an NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study. Led by former Texas A&M University (TAMU) SRP Center trainee Krisa Camargo and Michael Unger, Ph.D., from the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, the team demonstrated this type of tool is useful for quickly characterizing and prioritizing environmental samples for further analysis, particularly in the context of disaster research response.
- 323 - New Passive Sampling Device for PFAS -- Lohmann, Hurt
Release Date: 11/03/2021Researchers from the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded centers at the University of Rhode Island (URI) and Brown University developed a new type of passive sampling device for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Their new tool overcomes many limitations to traditional approaches, such as detecting short-chain PFAS and low concentrations of the chemicals in water.
- 322 - Helping Communities Monitor Air Pollution Using Plants -- Ramirez-Andreotta
Release Date: 10/06/2021An NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study revealed that certain plants can be used to effectively monitor metals and other pollutants in air. Community members collected environmental data used in the study as part of the Gardenroots project, which involves residents in research activities to evaluate human and environmental health effects near former and operating mining sites in Arizona. The study was led by University of Arizona SRP Center researcher Monica Ramirez-Andreotta, Ph.D.
- 317 - New Technique Sheds Light on PFAS in Coastal Watersheds -- Sunderland
Release Date: 05/05/2021A new analytical workflow, developed by NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees, can identify and characterize previously undetected per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) compounds in contaminated watersheds. The team is led by Elsie Sunderland, Ph.D., of the University of Rhode Island SRP Center, and SRP trainee Bridger Ruyle, a doctoral student at Harvard.
- 315 - Modeling and Field Tests Yield Promising Results for Aquifer Clean Up -- Christenson, Comfort
Release Date: 03/03/2021NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) grantees have developed novel, slow-release oxidant-paraffin candles that dissolve and degrade chlorinated contaminants in underground aquifers. The grant recipient, small business AirLift Environmental, worked with partners at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to optimize this groundwater clean-up method and demonstrated its effectiveness in a field study.
- 307 - Clay Layers May Worsen Arsenic Contamination -- van Geen
Release Date: 07/08/2020Layers 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.
- 291 - Passive Samplers Tackle PCB Flux -- Hornbuckle
Release Date: 03/06/2019Researchers from the University of Iowa Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center have developed a method to measure the movement, or flux, of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from water to air using passive sampling devices.
- 285 - Why Shallow Lake Food Webs May Have More Arsenic -- Neumann
Release Date: 09/05/2018Lake properties impact the amount of arsenic that transfers from sediments into the aquatic food web, according to a new SRP study. Researchers discovered high concentrations of arsenic in the water and plankton of well-mixed shallow lakes.
- 282 - Dust from Mine Waste in Navajo Nation May Harm Lungs and Heart -- Campen
Release Date: 06/06/2018Particles in dust from abandoned uranium mines may be damaging to the lungs and heart, according to new research from the University of New Mexico Superfund Research Program (UNM SRP) Center. The researchers showed that exposure to particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) from an old uranium mine, compared to PM10 from an area not impacted by a mine, led to increased pulmonary and cardiac toxicity in mice, as well as higher levels of inflammation and oxidative stress in cells.
- 261 - Importance of Young Dissolved Organic Carbon to the Release of Arsenic in Aquifers -- Bostick
Release Date: 09/07/2016Carbon 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.
- 257 - Using Field Data and Numerical Modeling to Assess Vapor Intrusion Risk -- Pennell
Release Date: 05/04/2016A recent Superfund Research Program (SRP) study reveals that measurements of chemical concentrations in groundwater may not be a good indicator of whether the chemicals are seeping into buildings and contaminating indoor air. The findings provide insight into how an approach incorporating multiple lines of evidence, including soil gas measurements and a 3-D model, can be used to better evaluate exposure risks from vapor intrusion into homes and buildings.
- 246 - River Algae Affects Mercury Pollution at Superfund Site -- Chen
Release Date: 06/03/2015A new study has shown that periphyton -- a community of algae, bacteria, and other natural material living on submerged surfaces -- is helping to transform mercury from a Superfund site into methylmercury, a more toxic form. The study, led by Dartmouth College Superfund Research Program (SRP) researchers, also found lower than anticipated levels of methylmercury in small fish located downstream from a former chemical plant, despite elevated levels of methylmercury in sediment, water, and periphyton.
- 245 - Using Lead Isotopes to Identify Sources of Metal and Metalloid Contaminants -- Betterton
Release Date: 05/06/2015By sampling wind-blown dust and aerosol, researchers from the University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) have measured airborne metal and metalloid contaminant dispersion patterns from mining operations. While using an existing technique in a new way, the UA SRP researchers measured the extent of soil contamination near a mine and smelter while verifying the use of lead isotope analysis to identify contaminant sources.
- 238 - Measuring Vapor Intrusion to Estimate Underground Contamination -- Suuberg
Release Date: 10/01/2014Scientists from the Brown University Superfund Research Program (Brown SRP) have taken a step toward providing a simpler, accurate screening method to determine whether chemicals in underground sources are seeping into buildings and contaminating indoor air. Led by Eric Suuberg, Sc.D., P.E., the researchers developed process models, basically numerical equations, to predict the concentrations of vapors that enter indoor environments. Published in a series of three papers, results from the process models were consistent with advanced computer modeling techniques.
- 236 - Developments toward Low-Cost, Unattended Vapor Intrusion Monitoring -- Patel
Release Date: 08/06/2014NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded scientists from the chemical sensor company Seacoast Science are developing an inexpensive vapor intrusion monitoring system. The system can operate repeatedly without user intervention and detect typical vapor intrusion chemicals at low detection limits, allowing many more sites to be monitored over longer periods.
- 234 - Gold Nanoparticles Offer a Simple and Inexpensive Way to Detect Mercury -- Koshland
Release Date: 06/04/2014Researchers led by Catherine Koshland, Ph.D., from the University of California, Berkeley Superfund Research Program (SRP) have developed an inexpensive, easy to use, and highly sensitive sensor to measure how much mercury is in liquid or aqueous samples. The sensor uses a film of gold nanoparticles to measure mercury concentrations down to 1.5 nanograms per liter.
- 227 - Lead Discovered at Higher Levels Below the Soil Surface -- Thompson, Boekelheide
Release Date: 11/06/2013Measuring lead soil contamination at the surface may miss higher concentrations just below the ground, according to a new study from the Brown University Superfund Research Program (SRP). Researchers analyzed hundreds of soil samples from residential properties around six water tower sites in southern Rhode Island and found that even when lead levels on the surface are low, concentrations can be greater at depths down to a foot.
- 226 - Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals and Their Lifetime in Ambient Fine Particulate Matter -- Dellinger, Gehling
Release Date: 10/21/2013For the first time, an expansive study into the concentration and extended decay behaviors of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) in ambient fine particulate matter revealed the ways in which EPFRs decompose in the environment. EPFRs can cause cell damage and induce an inflammatory response which can lead to a wide range of biological damage.
- 219 - Arsenic Uptake in Homegrown Vegetables from Mining-Affected Soils -- Maier, Ramirez-Andreotta
Release Date: 03/06/2013Arsenic uptake from soil into some plants presents a potential health hazard that may affect home gardeners near contaminated sites. When combining results from a greenhouse and a home garden study, the amount of arsenic accumulated in the edible portion of the plant in certain vegetable families was associated with the arsenic soil concentration.
- 218 - Marine Mercury: From Sources to Seafood -- Chen, Rardin
Release Date: 02/06/2013Mercury released into the air and then deposited into oceans contaminates seafood commonly eaten by people in the U.S. and globally, according to findings from the Coastal and Marine Mercury Ecosystem Research Collaborative (C-MERC).
- 209 - PAHs Before and After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill -- Anderson
Release Date: 05/02/2012Oregon State University SRP scientists used their novel passive sampling devices to make before-and-after comparisons of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at four sites affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Their results suggest a continued need for monitoring of residual oil and dissolved PAHs in the Gulf of Mexico.
- 197 - Poplars are Choosy about PCBs -- Schnoor
Release Date: 05/04/2011Could trees be the world's biggest vacuum cleaners? Scientists study how poplar trees help clean up some polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and reduce the risk of human exposures.
- 193 - Accelerating Pump-and-Treat Remediation at Arsenic-contaminated Sites -- Chillrud, Stute, Mailloux
Release Date: 01/05/2011Pumping contaminated groundwater to the surface to filter out toxins is time-consuming and expensive. A new process makes this method more efficient by adding chemicals to stir up toxins while the water still underground.
- 189 - Use of Spatial and Temporal Analyses to Provide Insights into the Environmental Etiology of Cancer -- Aschengrau, Webster
Release Date: 09/01/2010Scientists are investigating what individuals in geographic "hot spots" for cancer have in common to reveal possible routes of exposure to environmental carcinogens.
- 179 - Scaling up from Local Deterministic Measurement to a Regional Probabilistic Model -- Young, Sanborn
Release Date: 11/04/2009 - 164 - New Nanomaterials to Capture Mercury Vapor Released from Compact Fluorescent Lamps -- Hurt
Release Date: 08/06/2008 - 146 - Groundwater Contamination by Perchlorate from Brines -- Hunt
Release Date: 02/07/2007 - 136 - Mobilization of Arsenic in Sediments -- Di Toro
Release Date: 04/05/2006 - 128 - Identifying Predictors of Mercury Burdens in Fish -- Folt, Chen
Release Date: 08/02/2005 - 117 - Analysis of PAHs in Air Samples Collected After the WTC Disaster and Estimation of Increase in Lifetime Cancer Risk -- Rappaport
Release Date: 09/01/2004 - 108 - Use of Sediment Core Analyses in Site Characterization -- Bopp
Release Date: 12/03/2003 - 98 - Arsenic Mobilization in Bangladesh Groundwater -- Zheng, van Geen, Stute
Release Date: 02/05/2003 - 89 - Clues to Methylmercury Levels in Freshwater Fish -- Folt
Release Date: 05/01/2002 - 68 - Investigating the Transport of Heavy Metals in a Polluted Aquifer -- Conklin
Release Date: 07/12/2000 - 47 - Investigating the Mass Transfer and Persistence of Nonaqueous Phase Liquids in the Subsurface Environment -- Abriola
Release Date: 06/02/1999 - 43 - Fate and Transport of Metals in the Aberjona River Watershed -- Hemond
Release Date: 04/07/1999 - 32 - Understanding the Physical Processes Involved in Metal Transport in the Upper Mystic Lake -- Nepf
Release Date: 10/28/1998 - 29 - The Persistence of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Hudson River Sediments -- Chillrud
Release Date: 08/16/1998 - 20 - Use of Space/Time Analysis For Improved Exposure Assessment -- Christakos
Release Date: 05/13/1998 - 18 - Characterization of Contaminants in New York City -- Chillrud, Bopp
Release Date: 04/15/1998