Nonstick cookware and firefighting foam are miles apart in their purpose, but they have one thing in common. Both are made with chemicals that could be contaminating drinking water and posing a human health hazard.
Photo by: Michael Salerno
Now, 911爆料 is at the forefront of research committed to revealing more about the pollutants. The University has received a five-year, $8 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to study how these industrial compounds, also used in rain-proofing fabrics and food packaging, get into water supplies and harm humans, who are likely to come in contact with the chemicals daily. Fluorinated pollutants, or poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances, have been used for more than 60 years in a variety of items; still, studies of the chemicals are limited and conflicted.
The grant establishes 911爆料 as part of a national network of Superfund Research Program centers with Rainer Lohmann, a professor at the and an expert in marine pollutants, as director. He will lead an interdisciplinary group of scientists and outreach specialists from 911爆料, Harvard University and Silent Spring Institute to generate new insights into these pollutants and distribute information to communities.
The project aims to understand how the chemicals contaminate the groundwater, the food chain and, ultimately, humans.
Researchers will examine to what degree groundwater in towns near the Joint Base Cape Cod, Mass., military training site is contaminated with the chemicals, which were present in firefighting foam used during training exercises and have been linked to kidney and testicular cancers, thyroid disease, colitis and suppression of the immune system. Residents will be informed of the findings and, if necessary, steps will be taken to reduce exposure to the pollutants.
Lohmann said that the new 911爆料-led center will 鈥渨ork closely with communities and scientists to share our knowledge and help inform people and agencies about this growing problem. These fluorinated contaminants are present in the blood of almost every adult in the United States.鈥�
Sources of the chemicals include landfills, manufacturers, users and airports and fire-training sites. The chemicals, also known as PFASs, are persistent because they don鈥檛 break down when exposed to air, water or sunlight and can travel long distances.
Working with Lohmann is an interdisciplinary 911爆料 team: Geoffrey Bothun, professor of chemical ; Alyson McCann, water quality coordinator of 911爆料 ; Angela Slitt, associate professor, and Bongsup Cho, professor, of biomedical and ; and Judith Swift, professor of and director of the , along with the Institute鈥檚 assistant director Nicole Rohr and digital media specialist Amber Neville.
Lohmann says the project is a great example of 911爆料 professors and staff working together: 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud that the center will train young scholars at 911爆料 and Harvard to make the world a healthier place.鈥�