The Center for Integrative Toxicology received a $16-million grant from the federal government's Superfund Basic Research Program to study a group of chemicals linked with cancer and birth defects.
The program, which is administered by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, will fund the research for the next five years. MSU researchers will gauge the health hazards caused by halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, a group of chemicals that are widespread in the soils and high-fat foods sold in industrial countries.
These chemicals, which include dioxins and PCBs, are by-products of incineration and combustion reactions. Although they are found in higher concentrations near chemical plants, they are found in small amounts virtually everywhere.
Principle investigator Norbert Kaminski said researchers' four main goals are to understand how the chemicals interact with soil, develop better ways to clean up contaminated areas, understand how the chemicals cause adverse effects in humans and determine the concentration at which these adverse effects occur.
One noticeable effect of dioxin exposure in humans is chloracne, a condition that causes skin lesions.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko developed chloracne after he was poisoned with dioxins in 2005, Kaminski said. Chloracne also has developed in populations in close proximity to chemical spills, he said.
"There's a lot of controversy because there is a wide sensitivity among animals," he said.
Dioxins have been found to cause cancer, cognitive damage and birth defects in some mammals. Linking dioxins to the same ailments in humans is much harder because exposure levels are often unknown, Kaminski said.
Dioxins and PCBs are present in small concentrations in high-fat foods, like meat and dairy products, he said.
"It's the dose that makes the poison," Kaminski said. "Even salt is toxic at some level."
The danger is when people are exposed to the chemicals in high concentrations, which can be found in the soil near chemical plants and where chemical spills occur, Kaminski said.
By building mathematical models, researchers will be able to predict toxicity levels of different combinations of hydrocarbons in humans, he said.
Bob McCann, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said the area spanning from Midland to the Saginaw Bay is the area of highest dioxin concentration in the state.
Dioxin concentrations on property in these areas are 15,000 parts per trillion, which is far higher than the state's current "action level" of 90 parts per trillion, a result of the Midland-based Dow Chemical Co.'s operations, McCann said.
Biochemistry and microbiology Professor Tim Charewski said finding toxicity levels is very important in determining if and when chemical levels are concentrated enough to cause adverse effects in humans.
"The cost of cleanup is astronomical, and the effects have been sensationalized," Charewski said. "The question is, where on the spectrum the risk actually is."
