Oregon State University has been chosen as the home of a new Superfund Research Program, and will use a $12.4 million, four-year grant to study the health risks and impacts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – an increasing health risk due to air pollution coming from Asia. This grant will support a range of new studies by scientists from OSU and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The OSU Superfund Research Program will initially support studies on six general topics:
• Impact of PAHs as a skin carcinogen and toxin that can cross the placental barrier;
• Predicting the movement and ultimate fate of these toxins within the body;
• Studies on the reproductive toxicity of PAHs, including birth defects, neurological and behavioral effects;
• Creation of a sampling device to monitor PAHs in such sites as the Willamette River and Portland Harbor superfund site;
• Studies on the potential environmental health impacts of nanomaterials;
• Research on PAH effects in highly exposed populations, such as China.
