The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Hazardous Substance Basic Research and Training Program (Superfund Research Program [SRP]) funds university-based grants to find real and practical solutions to protect the public from exposure to hazardous substances found in contaminated water, soil, and air at hazardous waste sites. SRP’s central goal is to understand and break the link between chemical exposure and disease. The SRP map identifies the locations of SRP grantees, as well as hazardous waste sites where they conduct research or outreach.
SRP proactively communicates its scientific accomplishments to its stakeholders – whether to the public through community outreach and engagement, to industry via technology, or to government through partnerships. This includes partnering with Tribes in determining exposure pathways relevant to their traditional and cultural practices. See SRP’s Community Engagement and Research Translation webpage for more information.
Tribal Project Examples
The Oregon State University (OSU) SRP Center hosted high school students from Tribal nations for its third annual Tribal Youth Campus Tour in 2019. Tribal youth from the Columbia River region learned about SRP research, environmental health, and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math. Learn more about how OSU’s SRP Center Connects Tribal Youth to Science on Campus.
The Complexity of Communicating Risk in the Context of Fish Consumption was a webinar delivered in 2016, presented challenges of communicating risk about eating fish from waters known to contain high levels of pollutants while simultaneously conveying the benefits of fish consumption for human health. The first presentation described the cultural significance of certain types of fish among the Anishinabe people (Native American Tribes who inhabit the Upper Laurentian Great Lakes). These Tribes are traditionally known as a fishing culture with fish making up 65% of the protein in their diet. Community-based research is being conducted with the Anishinabe to develop risk messaging that will be delivered via mobile phone platforms and that will help Tribal members determine how much traditional fish they can safely consume.
The University of Arizona SRP conducted the research necessary to address community concerns and provided expert interviews for media coverage of Gold King Mine Spill in 2016. See UA’s Gold King Mine Spill – Diné Exposure Project to learn more about the focus groups in the affected Navajo communities, sampling, and partnerships.
