Water Quality & Human Health: From Arsenic Exposure to Biological Response - PowerPoint Presentation

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Water Quality & Human Health: From Arsenic Exposure to Biological ResponseUnderstanding how contaminants move through the environment

UNC Superfund Research Program

Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

UNC Superfund Research Program

Advances the scientific knowledge required to understand and reduce risks to human health associated with several of the highest priority chemicals regulated under the Superfund program, namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and chlorinated hydrocarbons (TCE and PCB).

UNC Superfund Research Program

Faculty Research Projects:Biomedical Research ProjectsToxicity caused by Oxidative Stress (e.g., DNA Damage)

Toxicity of Trichloroethylene (TCE)Cadmium Induced ToxicityEnvironmental Sciences & Engineering Research ProjectsBioremediation of PAH contaminated soilBioavailability of toxic compounds in water and sediment

Research TranslationGetting Science into Application

Investigating a Superfund Site of InterestSuperfund Sites, EPA Region 4

http://www.epa.gov/region04/superfund/sites/sites.html

Investigating a Superfund Site of Interest

According to the EPA…One in four Americans lives within 4 miles of a hazardous waste site, yet many US citizens are unaware of these sites and their implications for human health.

To search for EPA clean-up sites in your community:

http://www.epa.gov/cimc

Cleanups in My Communitya mapping and listing tool that shows where pollution is being or has been cleaned up under EPA's Superfund, RCRA and/or Brownfields cleanup programs.

What is Superfund? Also known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Established by Congress in 1980 to clean up the country’s worst hazardous waste sites;

Locates, investigates, cleans up and monitors hazardous waste sites throughout the US; Works with communities to return hazardous waste sites to safe and productive sites; Administered through the Environmental Protection Agency in cooperation with state and tribal governments.

Source: EPA, http://www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm

What is a Superfund Site?

“A Superfund site is any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as

a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment.”

- US Environmental Protection Agency

The ATSDR 2013 Substance Priority ListARSENIC

LEAD MERCURY

VINYL CHLORIDE POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS BENZENECADMIUMBENZO(A)PYRENE

POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/SPL/index.html

These substances are most commonly found at facilities on the National Priorities List (NPL) and are

determined to pose the most significant potential threat to human health due to their known or suspected toxicity and potential for human exposure at these NPL sites.

National Priority List (NPL) Superfund Sites Site Status as of March 201547 sites proposed for the NPL

1321 NPL sites1166 NPL sites with physical cleanup construction completed386 deleted sites

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/query/queryhtm/npltotal.htm

North Carolina

National Priority List of Superfund sites (March 2015)

42 sites: 39 final; 3 deleted

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/where.htm

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/status.htm

Superfund Clean Up TimelineDiscovery of Contaminated Site

Preliminary Assessment/InspectionNPL Site Listing Process

Remedial Investigation/Feasibility StudyRecords of DecisionRemedial Design & ActionConstruction Completion

NPL DeletionSite Reuse/Redevelopment

=Clean-Up

Remediation of contaminated soilRemediationUse a detergent to clean contaminated soil

Thermal desorption Isolate contaminated areaConcrete dikesCap with impervious layers of plastic/clay

Bioremediation Allow natural processes to breakdown contaminantBiostimulation

Soil Remediation ChallengesUndergroundGround water moves 1 meter/yrMany complex interactions with soil constituents

Expensive!

www.epa.gov/.../sites/PAD003058047/photos.htm

Remediation of contaminated waterPump and treat and return to ground

Containment Allow natural processes to breakdown contaminant

Groundwater

Who pays for Superfund cleanup? Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) are first in line, if they can be identifiedUntil 1995, Superfund Trust Fund was funded by a tax on petroleum and chemical industries ($1.6 billion collected)Trust fund was exhausted by the end of FY 2003

If no PRPs identified, funds can be appropriated by Congress out of general revenues

Making Superfund Relevant to StudentsSuperfund in NC offers an opportunity to share relevant scientific concepts and societal issues with students Connecting industrial hazardous waste to information on household hazardous waste can help empower students to improve their immediate environment

Ample resources and curricula to support your teaching

Contact InformationSuperfund Research ProgramUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

http://sph.unc.edu/srp/

Sarah Yelton(919) 966-0895sarah.yelton@unc.edu