Overview

The University of Arizona Superfund Research Center (UA SRC) has been continually funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health (NIEHS) Sciences  since 1989. The Title of submission for the 2025-2030 funding cycle is “The DUST Center: Hazardous Dust in Drylands – Exposure, Health Impacts, and Mitigation”.

The University of Arizona Superfund Research Center (UA SRC) addresses the unique human health risks arising from exposure to dusts containing toxic metal(loid)s and fungal spores in the US Southwest, an area with a rich history and future of mining. Here, disadvantaged mining communities experience chronic inhalation exposure to hazardous dusts and Native American communities in particular exhibit increased susceptibility to nonmalignant, inflammatory lung diseases. Our overall goal is to construct a mechanistic model of how chronic exposure to dust that is co-contaminated with metal(loid)s and fungal spores contributes to the development of nonmalignant lung diseases, then implement this model to predict exposures and associated health outcomes, to inform public health prevention in communities neighboring mine waste sites and design remediation-based interventions to exposure.

To achieve this goal, the UA SRC has four research projects and four cores that:

  1. Characterize how inhalation exposure to metal(loid)- containing mine waste particulates lead to lung tissue injury, including compromised mucociliary clearance and epithelial barrier function, tissue disrepair, and fibrosis, focusing on molecular mechanisms, toxicokinetic insights, and identification of individual metal(loid)s in these particulates that are responsible for causing lung injury.
  2. Characterize interactions between inhaled fungal spores and mine waste particulates in their effects on induction of lung inflammation and injury.
  3. Develop advanced techniques for the detection, isolation, assessment, and evaluation of mine waste particulates to better understand how mine waste mineral properties influence bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and toxicity.
  4. Develop advanced technology for assessing, prioritizing, and implementing, phytoremediation in metal-contaminated dryland ecosystems.
  5. Provide guidelines and tools for targeted phytoremediation solutions at Superfund sites.
  6. Mitigate the human impacts of exposure to mining waste through effective research translation and community engagement driven by collaborator-engaged research; 7) serve as a global resource for environmental health issues associated with metal mining; and and
  7. Produce transdisciplinary graduates who are equipped with cutting-edge environmental and biomedical expertise to solve pressing hazardous waste problems.