LSU Superfund Research: Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals

Hazardous substances at Superfund sites are frequently associated with particulate matter (PM), either in contaminated soils or sediments, emissions from treatment facilities, or dust from remediation or containment activities.  Our research focuses on newly-identified pollutant-particle systems, including environmentally persistent free radicals, that may form from the combination of pollutants and particulate matter, and their effect on respiratory and cardiac health. The ultimate goal of the research is to protect human health by providing information to be used in risk-based decisions on treatment options for Superfund wastes.

The LSU Superfund Research Program is supported by a Multiproject Center Grant (P42ES013648 ) from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program (SRP). These grants fund a combination of biomedical and environmental science and engineering research projects as well as cores dedicated to research support, training, community engagement and administration and research translation.

LSU Superfund Research Program Fact Sheet

The LSU Superfund Research Program consists of six research projects, four research support cores and administrative, research translation, community outreach, and training cores.

Projects:

Our Center is made of up five integrated projects that focus on environmentally persistent free radicals.  Two projects are biomedical research projects and three project involve environmental science and engineering research:

  • Project 1: Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals Alter Pulmonary Immunologic Homeostasis (Principal Investigator:  Stephania Cormier)
  • Project 2: Combustion-Generated EPFRs: Assessing Cardiovascular Risks of Exposure (Principal Investigator:  Tammy Dugas)
  • Project 3: Hazardous Waste Thermal Treatment and Community Exposure to Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (Principal Investigator:  Jennifer Richmond-Bryant)
  • Project 4: Activation, Sensing, and Prevention of Formation of EPFRs in Thermal Treatment of Superfund Wastes (Principal Investigator:  Slawo Lomnicki)
  • Project 5: Microstructural Pathway of EPFR Formation and Their Decay Mechanisms (Principal Investigator:  Phillip Sprunger)

Support Cores:

Our Center has six support cores that contribute to our research activities in different ways:

 

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