Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The environmental persistence, toxicity and distribution of halogenated organic chemicals is an increasingly troubling issue. After historical experience with chlorinated chemicals such as DDT and PCBs, the chemical industry turned to fluorinated and brominated compounds to manufacture products such as non-stick coatings and water proofing chemicals (perfluorinated chemicals; PFCs), and flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers; PBDEs). Many of these compounds, once deemed safe, are now being banned as their toxic effects are discovered and their presence in animals as far away as the Arctic is realized. Other compounds, such as haloacetic acids (HAAs) and trihalomethanes (THMs) are dangerous byproducts that may be formed during drinking water disinfection with chlorine. This work aims to strengthen our understanding of the distribution and fate of these chemicals and to explore microbiological methods to render them non-toxic. In addition, another chlorinated compound of historical significance, the chemical warfare agent Mustard Gas, is a primary target of this research. Canada recently announced the discovery of an undisclosed quantity of this dangerous material 127 km off the coast of Vancouver Island, and the United States possesses 7 tonnes of this material that is awaiting destruction.