Frequently Asked Questions

What is focus of the University of Arizona Superfund Basic Research Program?
The focus of the University of Arizona SBRP is Hazardous Waste Risk & Remediation in the Southwest. Our program is starting its 16th year of studying hazardous waste issues pertaining to the southwestern region of the U.S. The main toxicants investigated by our program researchers are arsenic, halogenated organics like trichloroethylene (TCE), and mine tailings. Our objective is to improve the risk assessment process by developing better toxicologic and hydrogeologic tools, and to improve the remediation of Federal and State Superfund sites by developing more effective, economical remediation strategies and technologies.

How many universities are involved in this program?
The University of Arizona is one of 19 universities awarded the NIEHS Superfund grant.

What is the source of grant funding for this research?
The Superfund Basic Research Program is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is one of the institutes at the National Institutes of Health. Research efforts undertaken by this program complement existing activities within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

What is the mission of the NIEHS?
The mission of the NIEHS is to reduce the burden of human illness and dysfunction from environmental exposures. The NIEHS achieves its mission through multi-disciplinary biomedical research programs, prevention and intervention efforts, and communication strategies that encompass training, education, technology transfer, and community outreach.

How is this grant different from most environmental grants?
The Superfund Basic Research Program is an interdisciplinary approach to environmental research and education. By encouraging health scientists to collaborate with engineers, ecologists, and hydrologists, a holistic approach to risk assessment and risk management of hazardous waste sites is developed.

How long is the grant funding period? And how much money does the University receive?
Our current funding period began April 1, 2005 and will continuing through March 31, 2010. For this funding period, the University of Arizona Superfund Program will receive approximately $14 million in direct and indirect costs.

Is this the first year of funding?
No. The University of Arizona has applied and successfully received grant funding for the Superfund Program since 1989. The UA Program is reaping the benefits of 15 years of research. Our Program is translating years of study into solutions. Our environmental science projects are ready to move from the laboratory to the field. In addition, our Biomedical projects are on the verge of disclosing the mechanisms behind the toxic effects of the hazardous substances so that susceptibility to the toxicity can be known and biomarkers can be found that signify exposure, susceptibility, or toxicity to the hazardous substance.

How big is the Superfund Basic Research Program at the University of Arizona?
There are over 70 people involved. Faculty members, staff, and students from 5 colleges and 10 departments are applying their expertise to hazardous waste issues. The colleges include: Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Engineering. The departments include: Soil, Water & Environmental Science, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Hydrology & Water Resources, Cell Biology & Anatomy, Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Material Sciences & Engineering, Veterinary Science & Microbiology, Atmospheric Sciences, and Respiratory Sciences.

What is the underlying research theme for the University of Arizona Program?
The University of Arizona Superfund Basic Research Program is an interdisciplinary approach to environmental research and education. The central theme is detecting, assessing, and ameliorating environmental pollution and determining the impact of environmental pollution on human health. Our application emphasizes hazardous waste issues currently confronting the Southwest. However, our studies are not limited to the Southwest since the main toxicants being examined, arsenic and chlorinated hydrocarbons, are ubiquitous. Thus, the results of our studies can be applied to hazardous waste sites and environmental pollution nationally and internationally.

Why is hazardous waste an issue in the Southwest?
The Southwest has an arid climate and for the most part is dependent on subsurface water as its source of drinking water. Due to its geology, the Southwest soils and vadose zones are a source of numerous minerals and metals. Many of these metals are naturally released into both above and below groundwater by erosion and subsurface shifts. Due to human efforts to inhabit the Southwestern terrain or access its mineral riches via mining, much more of these metals are exposed and thus increasing the possibility of exposure to humans by air, water, or food borne routes. Arsenic is of particular concern since it is associated with copper, gold, and silver, which is mined on a large scale and leaves vast quantities of mine wastes containing arsenic. Both climatic forces and mining activities can release arsenic into subsurface or surface waters resulting in contamination of drinking waters.

Cyprus leach pond.

Arid and semi-arid climatic regions include a significant fraction of the world (including 25% of the contiguous U.S.). Such regions are experiencing rates of development that exceed those of other climatic regions, with rapid development expected to continue. In the southwestern U.S., the population is projected to grow from 45 million today to nearly 70 million by the year 2025. Economic development in semi-arid regions is currently supported by the exploitation of both surface and groundwater resources at a level that puts a severe strain on the available water supplies. With such scarce water supplies, the quality of the water (both groundwater and surface water) is key. Humans and ecosystems depend on discharges of water from both groundwater and surface water systems. These waters carry chemicals and nutrients needed for survival and may also contain contaminants such as arsenic, volatile organic compounds and metals. To understand the effects of these contaminants we need to understand the pathways the water and the chemicals follow as they move across and under the landscape and the transformations that occur during transport.

Since the Southwest is so dependent on groundwater, any environmental pollutants finding their way into this water can have disastrous health effects. In addition to arsenic, the Southwest has a number of waste sites containing halogenated hydrocarbons including trichloroethylene. Both Tucson and Phoenix, the two major urban areas of Arizona, have numerous waste sites contaminated with halogenated hydrocarbons. The halogenated hydrocarbons have migrated from these waste sites into local groundwater resulting in adverse health effects, and closure of several wells. TCE contamination of the well water of South Tucson is of particular concern since there have been documented health effects associated with exposure to the well water (cardiac birth defects) that have been reproduced in laboratory animal models. Although the chemical toxicants found in hazardous waste sites have been shown in the laboratory to be toxic, there is very little evidence of adverse effects in humans that can clearly be linked to the presence of the pollutants. Therefore, TCE and other halogenated hydrocarbons will continue to be a focus of our biomedical and environmental studies in the renewal application.

How can people get exposed to arsenic?
Historically, accidental exposure to arsenic has occurred from the consumption of artesian well water, where the inorganic form of arsenic was identified as arsenate.

Crusher at a mine in Klondyke, AZ.

What are halogenated organics?

Halogenated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) are among the most commonly found pollutants of the water supply in the United States and around the world. TCE is considered an animal carcinogen and a potential health hazard to humans. People exposed to TCE by drinking contaminated water show such numerous health problems including skin irritations, cancers, birth defects, miscarriages, and coordination, speech and hearing impairment.

Picture shows a complex hydrocarbon mixture floating on top of water.

Historically, attempts to clean-up halogenated organics have favored the use of established technologies such as pump-and-treat (contaminated water) or incineration (contaminated soil). This use of established technologies was not because of restrictive regulations, but largely due to the irresistible pressure of "technology push" -- established technologies were used simply because their performance characteristics were known. Therefore, they became better known and more widely used. This pattern has been repeated at many sites for several decades and has sometimes led to less than optimal cleanup results.

What the University of Arizona program seeks to do is to increase the number and diversity of new treatment technologies and to test them at field sites so as to make cost and performance data available to customers. In this way the results of good science and engineering can influence regulations and public policy toward the national good.