Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: New Technologies and Emerging Health Risks
Welcome to the Superfund Research Program at Oregon State University
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are re-emerging as an environmental pollutant of concern. PAHs, found at Superfund sites and urban settings, are formed in the burning of carbon-based energy sources, e.g., diesel, gasoline, coal, petroleum and in cooking or tobacco smoke.
Directed by Dr. David Williams, the Oregon State University SRP was established in 2009 and brings together a multi-disciplinary team with years of experience in PAHs and environmental health issues. Investigative teams from Oregon State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will emphasize basic and applied research using state-of-the-art techniques to better understand PAHs and their impacts on human and ecological health. Since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, OSU SRP has an additional focus on petrogenic forms of PAHs found within crude oil.
The six innovative projects focus on:
- PAHs in skin and transplacental cancer and prevention approaches
- Construction of the first PAH physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model using both mice and humans
- Adverse effects on development in a versatile model (zebrafish)
- Development of passive sampling devices, deployed at Superfund sites, testable in the zebrafish model
- Development of analytical methods for tracking another emerging potential health threat, nanomaterials
- Determining PAH composition, atmospheric deposition, and the effects of PAHs "aging" in transport to the U.S. The focus will be on highly exposed populations (Chinese and Native Americans in the U.S.)
Visit the Superfund Research Program and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for more information about our funding source. NIEHS grant #P42 ES016465
