PROJECT SUMMARY (Overall Center: Maier Lantz) The University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) is investigating the human andenvironmental risks associated with metal mining. A majority of metal mining takes place in the Western UnitedStates and other arid and semi-arid parts of the world. A central challenge for arid environments is that humanexposure routes and the fate and cleanup of mining contamination are different than for areas that receivemore rainfall. This has led to a large knowledge gap in regard to health and environmental effects of minewaste systems. Our Center will address two major issues within this overall gap. The first is the lack ofunderstanding of mining waste behavior and containment and the relative impacts of airborne and waterbornespread of mine waste into arid environments. Mine wastes in particular legacy mine tailings generate dust-borne toxic metals (for example arsenic and lead). These wastes also generate acid mine drainage resultingin contamination of groundwater which is often the primary potable water source for surrounding communities.The second knowledge gap is a lack of understanding of the human health consequences of inhalation of minedusts specifically regarding the development of chronic lung diseases. The UA SRP has an unparalleled groupof scientists to address these knowledge gaps. The three UA SRP environmental projects are focused ondeveloping new technologies for site cleanup and on characterizing surface (dust) and subsurface (water)transport and fate of metals associated with mining waste both before and after cleanup. The two biomedicalprojects center around defining the importance of inhalation exposures and health impacts of metal toxicants inmine wastes focusing on arsenic and its effects on lung disease. Results will be used to build conceptual andquantitative models to describe mechanisms of metal toxicity and movement from waste areas into neighboringcommunities or ecosystems. Together our environmental and biomedical researchers will use these modelsto: 1) develop exposure assessment tools that can be used to evaluate the risk for communities that neighbormine waste or smelter sites; 2) evaluate the effectiveness of new surface and subsurface cleanuptechnologies; and 3) provide critical information on how arsenic one of the most prevalent toxicants in minewaste exerts its effects. Project teams work seamlessly with Research Translation Community Engagementand Training Cores to support the dynamic translation of this research to communities adjacent to Superfundsites federal (EPA ATSDR) and state (AZ Dept. Environmental Quality AZ Dept. Health Services)stakeholders and the mining industry. To further its impact the UA SRP will continue to developcomplementary initiatives such as the Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining an industry-academiccooperative to move research results into the field in real time. The principle guiding the UA SRP is that itsresearch should be innovative in advancing individual scientific fields. More importantly it should transformindustry-wide practices in mining to improve environment/ecosystem preservation and protect human health.