Superfund Research Program
Overview
The NIEHS Superfund Research Program's sister agencies - the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and state and regional hazardous waste agencies - are tasked to develop and implement policies that protect health and they depend upon the best science. SRP program staff and grant recipients actively engages with colleagues at federal and state agencies to improve the Program's ability to address societal needs, transfer the most recent research results, and identify potential future research needs.
ATSDR: Seminar Series
SRP grantees periodically present seminars at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in Atlanta. Held since 2008, these seminars provide a rich opportunity for academic-governmental collaboration. The seminars facilitate transfer of the most recent SRP research results relevant to ATSDR and help SRP scientists identify future research needs. Please contact Olivia Harris ([email protected]) in the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Science if you have questions.
Past Seminars
- May 2019 - Rainer Lohmann, PhD, University of Rhode Island
Novel Detection Tools to Assess the Sources, Transport & Bioaccumulation of PFAS - February 2019 - Kim Boekelheide, MD., PhD, Brown University
Testicular Toxicity: Biology, Human Exposures, Animal Models, and Sperm Biomarkers - October 2018 - Philippe Grandjean, MD, University of Rhode Island
Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Research Experiences and Research Gaps - August 2018 - Ana Navas-Acien, MD, MPH, PhD, Columbia University
Arsenic and other Metals in US Populations: Opportunities for Prevention - May 2018 - Elsie Sunderland, Ph.D., Harvard School of Public Health
Understanding the Relative Importance of Diverse Exposure Pathways for Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) - April 2017 - Jordan Ned Smith, Ph.D., Oregon State University
Better Understanding Exposures to PAHs and Pesticides (233KB) - September 2016 - Eric Betterton, Ph.D., University of Arizona
Arsenic and Lead in Size-Resolved Aerosol Contaminants Associated with Copper Smelting Emissions - May 2016 - Julian Schroeder, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
How Plants Detoxify and Accumulate Toxic Metals: Implications for Human Exposure - April 2015 - Joel Meyer, Ph.D., Duke University
Mitochondria: Underappreciated Target of Toxicity - September 2014 - John Stegeman, Ph.D., Boston University
How Small Fish Help Predict Human Risk from Non-Dioxin like PCBs - June 2014 - Norbert Kaminski, Ph.D., Michigan State University
Employing Human Primary Leukocytes to Assess Immunotoxicity (284KB) - February 2013 - Robert Hurt, Ph.D., Brown University
Nanomaterial Applications and Implications for Environmental Health (198KB) - February 2012 - Staci Simonich, Ph.D., Oregon State University
What Goes Around Comes Around – Chasing Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from the Beijing Olympics to the U.S. West Coast (3MB) - October 2011 - Allan H. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
The Astonishing Long-Term Effects of In Utero & Early Childhood Exposure to Arsenic (216KB) - July 2011 - Barry Dellinger, Ph.D., Louisiana State University
Human Health Implications of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (274KB) - February 2011 - Kelly Pennell, Ph.D., Brown University
Characterizing Vapor Intrusion Exposures: Model Predictions and Field Observations (55KB) - October 2010 - James Tiedje, Ph.D., Michigan State University
Advances in Dioxin Bioavailability and Biodegradation in Environmental Matrices - September 2010 - Celia Y. Chen, Ph.D., Dartmouth College
- April 2010 - Raina Maier, Ph.D., University of Arizona
Phytostabilization of Mine Tailings in Arid Environments: Plant Establishment and Tailings Characterization (28KB) - April 2010 - Kim Anderson, Ph.D., Oregon State University
Innovative Technologies to Quantify Environmental Contaminant Bioavailability & Exposure (275KB) - February 2010 - Keri Hornbuckle, Ph.D., University of Iowa
Industrial Chemicals in Urban Environments: Airborne PCBs and their Sources (68KB) - August 2009 - Alan R. Buckpitt, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
Species Differences in Naphthalene Toxicity: Implications for Humans (74KB) - June 2009 - James A. Swenberg, DVM, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect: Implications for Risk Assessment (85KB) - October 2008 - Clement Furlong, Ph.D., University of Washington
Protein Biomarkers of Exposure & Paraoxonases as Biomarkers of Susceptibility for Environmentally Induced Diseases (10KB) - September 2008 - Tom K. Hei, Ph.D., Columbia University
The How and Why of Asbestos Carcinogenesis (19KB) - June 2008 - James R. Hunt, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Dense Brines as Sources of Groundwater Contamination by Perchlorate and Chromate (18KB) - June 2008 - Karl G. Linden, Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder
From Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons to Organophosphates: Photolytic Fate in Engineered and Natural Systems (9KB) - May 2008 - Leena A. Nylander-French, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Pharmacokinetics of the Interaction Between Inhaled and Dermal Absorption of Naphthalene (10KB) - October 2007 - Frederic K. Pfaender, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Bioavailability as a Factor in Pollutant Exposure (Abstract Unavailable)
Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable (FRTR)
The Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable (FRTR) was established in 1990 to provide a forum for interaction among federal, state, and private industry to share information about technology-related efforts of mutual interest; discusses directions of the national site remediation programs and their impact on the technology market; and form partnerships to pursue subjects of mutual interest.
SRP staff participate in Roundtable conference calls, serve on serves on organizing committees and lead panel discussions for scientific sessions at FRTR conferences.
Other FRTR member agencies include the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM): Risk e-Learning Webinars
SRP staff work closely with the EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), which has responsibility for all EPA hazardous waste-related programs, including Superfund.
The SRP collaborates with OLEM to conduct interactive, Web-based "Risk e-Learning" seminars. These live, two-hour events are hosted on the Contaminated Site Clean-Up Information (CLU-IN) website. They provide information about innovative treatment and site characterization technologies to the hazardous waste remediation community: EPA risk assessors and regional project managers, state and local regulatory agencies, environmental engineering/consulting firms, and academia.
EPA Office of Research and Development and Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation: Ongoing Collaborations
The EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) has both an intramural and a university grant-based research program that support several environmental laws under the EPA's purview, including Superfund. The SRP has established an ongoing collaboration with the ORD's Superfund-related research program, interacting regularly with the Superfund and Technology Liaisons to promote:
- Mutual understanding of the research programs
- Sharing of research results
- Indentification of effective science communication tools
Other Activities
Research to Risk Assessment Interagency Working Group
SRP established a communication network of senior staff and managers from NIEHS, EPA Headquarters and Regional offices, and ATSDR to introduce new science for application to site risk assessments. It also provided academic researchers with the opportunity to work with environmental health practitioners to see that their research findings are applied to improve human and environmental public health.
The Research to Risk Assessment model of cross-agency collaboration conducted projects that were mutually beneficial to both the environmental health practitioners and the academic researchers. For example:
- Airborne PCBs in Public Schools: To address a concern from EPA Region 2 related to elevated levels of PCBs in a New York City public school, EPA risk assessment experts and University of Iowa SRP-funded researchers collaborated to investigate source attribution and designed a lab study with the goal of reducing the uncertainty factors associated with the application of the reference concentration (RfC).
- Vapor Intrusion: Working Group members from ATSDR worked with researchers from the Brown University Center on site-specific projects. The collaboration provided real-world data for the researchers to test and improve their models and allowed ATSDR to benefit from the SRP grantee's expertise in review of site data.
- Fish Advisory Network: SRP and EPA grantees and staff established a network to share research and information on fish advisories, consumption, and fish trade programs at Superfund sites.
- Lead Contaminated Soil Treatment with Phosphate Amendments: SRP grantees and EPA risk assessors organized sessions at the American Chemical Society Environmental Chemistry to discuss effectiveness and challenges of the use of phosphate amendments to treat lead-contaminated soils at hazardous waste sites and prepared a manuscript for publication in Environmental Public Health.
- Information Exchange Webinars: Working Group members from EPA and ATSDR presented webinars that provided SRP researchers, particularly trainees, with information on the history, science, and policies of Superfund sites and an overview of human health risk assessment.
- Best Practice Tips for SRP Grantees: Working Group members compiled a series of documents to provide SRP grantees with best practices for establishing and maintaining constructive working relationships with officials at hazardous waste sites. Individual components include:
- Best Practice Tips for SRP Grant Recipients: How to Gain and Maintain Access to Superfund Sites (437KB) (Main Report)
- Executive Summary (288KB)
- Appendix 1 - EPA / ATSDR Contact List for the Superfund Research Program (437KB)
- Appendix 2 - Definition of Key Terms and Acronyms (161KB)
- Appendix 3 - Interviews with Three SRP Grantees On-site Access (498KB)
- Appendix 4 - Site-Specific Health and Safety Plan for the Tucson International Airport Superfund Site (2MB)