DES Research Programs

DES Program Receives Curriculum Enhancement Grant From National Science Foundation

Through a grant from the National Science Foundation, DES purchased an Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrometer (ICP). The ICP is the centerpiece for the Department's new five-course sequence that integrates problem-based learning.

X-Ray Diffraction At The University Of Southern Maine

The Department of Environmental Science (Dr. Samantha Langley-Turnbaugh), along with the Geosciences Department (Dr. Steve Pollock) and the Department of Geography/Anthropology (Dr. Nathan Hamilton) have received a grant ($130,000) from the National Science Foundation to purchase an X-ray Diffraction System.

This Major Research Instrumentation grant provided 94 percent of the cost of acquiring a high-performance X-ray diffraction system and supporting computer and software. This equipment supports research projects in geology, soil science, and archaeology. Primary use of the X-ray diffraction system is to determine qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative mineralogical compositions of very fine-grained rocks, glaciomarine and glaciolacustrine clay, mangrove swamp clay, urban soils, and pottery.

Individual research and research collaborations (between the departments of Geosciences, Environmental Science and Geography & Anthropology) range from advanced research in fine-grained rocks, urban soils and archaeological artifacts to research training issues for individuals working with disabled students. Archaeological geology research characterizes archaeological stone artifacts, pottery, and ceramics. Additionally this instrument will support research on very fine-grained consolidated and unconsolidated archaeological source materials.

Maine Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health

The mission of the MCTEH is to contribute to national and statewide efforts to study environmental contaminants and reduce their effects by assembling a critical mass of researchers and resources at USM. Opportunities for students include academic year and summer undergraduate research fellowships.

Currently, Drs. Langley-Turnbaugh, D'Orsie, and Gordon (Department of Chemistry) and three DES undergraduate students are working with MCTEH on a research project focusing on the relationships between indoor and outdoor air quality and asthma in Maine.

Phytoremediation of Lead Contaminated Soil

Residents of Portland's Parkside neighborhood may soon have an unusual tool to help them combat lead contamination in their soil -- spinach.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded $30,000 to a USM soil scientist and city officials to develop phytoremediation gardens in Parkside yards that test positive for unsafe levels of lead. Phytoremediation is the use of plants -- in this case, spinach -- to help clean up environmental toxins. Plant roots leach diffused contaminants from the soil and concentrate them in their own cells. Those plants can then be removed and destroyed as toxic waste, leaving a more purified soil behind.

Since October, USM Professor of Environmental Science and Policy Samantha Langley-Turnbaugh has been testing soils at 39 Parkside properties for lead contamination, aided by a team of student researchers. Once test results are tabulated, properties will be identified as potential sites for phytoremediation gardens to be planted in the spring.

Langley-Turnbaugh pioneered her work in urban phytoremediation in Portland's Bayside neighborhood last summer under a previous EPA grant. Three spinach gardens were planted there, with toxic spinach harvested and disposed of at the hazardous waste facility in Norridgewock, ME. Preliminary data indicate lead contamination at one garden was reduced by 50 percent following phytoremediation.

While lead contamination is a concern in any neighborhood, Langley-Turnbaugh says it is of special concern in neighborhoods such as Bayside and Parkside "where you have large populations of immigrants and refugees. Many people grow crops in small backyard gardens for cultural reasons and to supplement limited income, so lead is a real concern."

Most phytoremediation research has occurred in labs or at commercial and industrial sites; Langley-Turnbaugh says she is excited by the prospect of demonstrating the technique in a different environment. "Nobody has published anything on phytoremediation being used in small residential neighborhoods," she says. "We're on the first wave."

The City's Health and Human Services Department has hosted several programs for schools and community groups in Parkside to help identify project participants and provide community education about lead contamination. The intensified focus on lead doesn't indicate the neighborhoods have a proportionately high level of contamination, however, notes Lisa Belanger, program manager for the city's Family Health Services. "We're just fortunate that this kind of research is being done at the university and that we can benefit from EPA support to make our neighborhoods a little safer."