Analytical Advances
Superfund Research Program
The SRP was created as a multidisciplinary research program to address the broad, complex health and environmental issues that arise from the multimedia nature of hazardous waste sites. In meeting these objectives, SRP-funded research has led to analytical advances that have been used in risk assessments and to improve the understanding of toxicity and disease etiology. For example:
- Applying Superfund Expertise to the Gulf Oil Spill (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2010/september/spotlight-applying.cfm): Oregon State University SRP researcher Kim Anderson, Ph.D., is using a novel sampling device to monitor polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures in the air and water along four Gulf coast states.
- ARRA-funded Collaboration to Evaluate Vapor Intrusion Exposures and Risks : Five SRP Researchers from three institutions are collaborating to investigate the issue of vapor intrusion, which affects numerous communities across the country.
- Bioassay for Dioxin and Dioxin-like Chemicals : SRP-funded researchers have developed, validated, and patented a cell bioassay system (CALUX®) for dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals in a wide variety of matrices that is sensitive, specific, quick, and inexpensive.
- Development and Application of the "Gellyfish" : Dr. James Shine at the Harvard School of Public Health SRP has developed and tested the "Gellyfish" - a passive sampling device that can simultaneously determine the free metal ion concentration of multiple metals. This will greatly enhance our ability to estimate the potential fate and effects of heavy metals in the environment, allowing for assessment of their bioavailability and subsequent risks to human health.
- SRP researchers test less expensive method for tar remediation (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/3/science-tar/index.htm): Researchers from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill published a study showing that alkaline and alkaline-polymer solutions might offer an effective and less expensive way to remove tars from former manufactured gas plant sites.
- Superfund researchers propose exposome paradigm (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2010/december/science-superfund.cfm): University of California-Berkeley SRP researchers Stephen Rappaport, Ph.D., and Martyn Smith, Ph.D., offer a fundamental proposal for changing the way epidemiologists measure environmental exposure.
