Ten Years of Progress For Superfund Basic Resear...( in arsenic and chromium. The key toac...)

"For example, it's not uncommon for Gulf seafood to contain arsenic," explained Caruso. "That could be a concern; however, it's not, because the form of the arsenic is totally innocuous. Chromium is a similar case where Chromium III is essential to life, and chromium VI is toxic."

Caruso's research group published a paper last summer in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry describing the methods used to detect sub-nanogram levels of organotin compounds in their gaseous form. His research is now being expanded to include liquid samples and solid samples, which would be useful in analyzing contaminated waters and harbor sediments.

Working at very low levels of detection is important for a number of reasons. First, many metals are toxic at very small quantities. Secondly, it makes the analysis more accurate and reliable because the chemists don't have to concentrate their samples. "The less we treat the sample, the more contamination-free it's going to be," summed up Caruso.

Researchers in the College of Medicine will also present their findings concerning the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of degradation and the mutagenesis of toxic metals. Kathleen Dixon, associate professor and associate director of the department of environmental health, will discuss her findings on the mutagenic mechanisms of chromium. She has looked at the links between chromium inhalation and lung cancer and has developed model systems including yeast, bacteria, mammalian cell cultures and transgenic mice. Dixon's presentation will be one of the featured talks during the three-day conference.

The complete UC research team includes 12 faculty in the departments of molecular genetics and environmental health in the College of Medicine, the departments of chemistry and biological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, a
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Contact: Chris Curran
chris.curran@uc.edu
513-556-1806
University of Cincinnati
24-Feb-1997