NIEHS Superfund Research Program - Research Brief Podcasts

NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded researchers, led by Heileen Hsu-Kim, Ph.D., of the Duke University SRP Center, provided insight into how and at what timescale mercury changes within a wetland ecosystem. They found mercury from different sources is converted into other mercury forms that eventually have similar properties. This finding can inform environmental management or pollution control strategies.

NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded researchers developed a new strategy that uses limestone and a naturally occurring mineral to clean up water contaminated with arsenic and uranium — two of the most frequently detected drinking water pollutants in Tribal communities.

Scientists funded partly by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) developed a computer model to determine the health effects of exposure to dioxins. Researchers use the model to combine data on exposures and on known health outcomes to assess the overall risk chemicals could pose to health.For this study, researchers at the Michigan State University SRP Center and Emory University created a computational model to show how the highly toxic chemical 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) affects biological processes that increase cholesterol levels in the liver.

Researchers partially funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) mapped interactions between microbes that may support the growth of certain bacteria that degrade polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a harmful contaminant. By harnessing those microbial relationships, researchers could improve the bioremediation, or bacterial breakdown, of PCBs from the environment, according to a team led by Timothy Mattes, Ph.D., University of Iowa SRP Center.

Toxic air pollutants called environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) may react with certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the surface of airborne particles to form more toxic chemicals, according to researchers funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP). The study, led by Slawomir Lomnicki, Ph.D., of the Louisiana State University SRP Center, demonstrated that interactions between components of fine particulate matter mixtures may enhance their overall toxicity.

Adding biochar produced at a high temperature may be an effective way to immobilize arsenic in sediment, according to researchers partially funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP). The study, led by Owen Duckworth, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill SRP Center, in partnership with researchers from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Brazil, also provided further insight into the conditions that influenced the effectiveness of biochar for soil remediation.

A particular class of extracellular vesicles protects against neurotoxicity caused by cadmium exposure, according to an NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study. Extracellular vesicles are small packages of fats, nucleic acids, or proteins that allow cells to communicate with each other and support numerous cellular functions.

Iron particles coated in a nontoxic material may enhance PFAS degradation by a certain bacterium, according to researchers funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program. The study could inform bioremediation efforts that harness the microbe, known as Acidimicrobium Strain A6, for cleaning up contaminated soil, sediments, and aquifers.

Prenatal exposure to the air pollutant benzene may lead to a higher risk of metabolic diseases later in life, according to a study in mice partially funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP). Benzene affects neurodevelopment, predisposing offspring to harmful metabolic effects, according to a research team led by Marianna Sadagurski, Ph.D., of the Wayne State University SRP Center.

Researchers funded in part by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) uncovered a key mechanism explaining how inflammation caused by cadmium exposure makes lung infections more severe and deadly.

Exposure to synthetic chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) through a mother's milk could cause short-term glucose intolerance in offspring, according to a study by researchers from the University of Kentucky (UK) and funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP). Intolerance to glucose, signified by high blood levels of the sugar, is a hallmark of diabetes. The study, conducted with mice, builds on earlier SRP-funded work by the same group that found connections between maternal PCB exposure and diabetes risk factors in progeny.

Researchers funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) created a novel class of materials that can attract and remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water. According to the authors, the new technology — called Fluor Mop — can be regenerated, reused, and is potentially less expensive than current remediation strategies.

NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded scientists developed a method to extract metals from water using synthetic molecules inspired by those produced by bacteria. The biodegradable molecules, called rhamnolipids, could one day be used to remove toxic metals or extract rare and valuable elements from aqueous mining and industrial waste.

Researchers 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.

NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded researchers demonstrated a significant step toward identifying individual chemical components in complex mixtures. Their approach uses advanced analytical techniques and sophisticated machine learning approaches while overcoming the time-consuming separation steps that preceded traditional chemical analysis.

An NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study in mice reported that exposure to a type of dioxin can alter cells in the liver, their metabolic characteristics, and how they are organized within the liver. According to the researchers, these changes in cell behavior and organization play a role in the development of dioxin-induced liver diseases, such as fibrosis and fatty liver disease.

A NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study showed how unique microsensors that harness powerful molecular interactions can selectively detect trace amounts of aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the environment.

NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded researchers found that elevated levels of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the blood of participants of the GenX Exposure Study were associated with higher cholesterol. Led by Jane Hoppin, ScD., of the North Carolina State University SRP Center, the study started in 2017 in response to the concerns of residents of Wilmington, North Carolina, about PFAS in their drinking water.

Using an innovative method to simulate the gastrointestinal (GI) system, an NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded study revealed the interplay between arsenic exposure and the gut microbiome. The scientists assessed how arsenic alters the microbiome and how much arsenic can be dissolved into the bloodstream after being broken down by the gut, also known as bioaccessibility.

By combining data across three different populations, NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) researchers were able to better characterize sources of arsenic exposure that should be included in risk assessments. The study was a collaboration among the University of California (UC), Berkeley, University of New Mexico (UNM), and Columbia University SRP centers.