Amending mine waste with compost is a viable and promising alternative to the expensive process of covering an entire site with a thick soil or rock cap followed by seeding, according to research from the University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) Center. The trial was based on successful results from preliminary greenhouse studies, which scaled effectively to the field.

A team of researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program (UNC SRP) Center and Yale University developed a new method to study DNA modifications that led them to a paradigm-shifting discovery of a new mechanism of gene regulation in mouse cells. The new method and resulting discoveries are important breakthroughs that open new possibilities for understanding gene regulation in mice and humans, particularly during development.

A recent Superfund Research Program (SRP) study reveals that measurements of chemical concentrations in groundwater may not be a good indicator of whether the chemicals are seeping into buildings and contaminating indoor air. The findings provide insight into how an approach incorporating multiple lines of evidence, including soil gas measurements and a 3-D model, can be used to better evaluate exposure risks from vapor intrusion into homes and buildings.

A new tool provides a quick and easy way to dilute samples for biochemical and biological analyses. The microfluidic dilution generator, developed by researchers led by Tingrui Pan, Ph.D., at the University of California, Davis Superfund Research Program Center, can serve as a simple dilution device in research laboratories, point-of-care clinical settings, and low-resource environments.

Specific modifications to helper molecules, or co-factors, play an important role in how efficiently some bacteria can degrade toxic chlorinated pollutants. In a new study, researchers from the University of Tennessee found that specific chemical modifications to corrinoid co-factors, a group of molecules that includes vitamin B12, can affect how well bacteria degrade chlorinated pollutants such as tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE). These findings could help improve cleanup of chlorinated contaminants at hazardous waste sites.

Arsenic exposure may alter immune response to a common pathogen in the lung, according to a recent study from the Dartmouth College Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center. This study provides insight into how arsenic exposure may increase the risk of respiratory infection and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is associated with chronic bacterial infections and other non-malignant lung infections. The study also helps discern the contribution of organic forms of arsenic alone to the alteration of the innate immune response in the lung.

Using a platform to map the reactivity of environmental chemicals across the proteome may uncover new ways environmental chemicals interact in humans, according to a study from the University of California (UC) Berkeley Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center. Researchers use reactivity-based strategies that mine for distinct sets of proteins throughout the proteome that may be particularly sensitive to environmental chemicals.

Changes in uptake of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish after remediation of their aquatic environment may be predicted, according to researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. They measured freely dissolved concentrations of PCBs in water and applied mathematical models to predict the effectiveness of sediment remediation. The study is one step toward understanding how PCB bioavailability changes in sediment as a result of activated carbon amendments, a method to sequester PCBs, can influence transfer of PCBs to fish.

An electrochemical system can effectively remove trichloroethylene (TCE) from groundwater at high flow rates, as demonstrated by researchers at the Northeastern University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center. They optimized the electrode material and configuration to determine the best conditions to dechlorinate TCE at a flow rate of one liter per minute, which exists in karst aquifers.

Bacteria and other microbes in the intestines prevent liver fibrosis, or scarring, upon chronic liver injury in mice, according to a new study from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The research, funded in part by the Superfund Research Program (SRP), is the first to show a beneficial role of intestinal microbiota in maintaining liver homeostasis and preventing liver fibrosis resulting from chronic damage to the liver.