91制片厂

For a time, 91制片厂 researchers Paula Mouser and Adam Wymore were connected only by the invisible chemicals they were studying.听

That is, Mouser, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Wymore, associate professor of natural resources and the environment, had both independently worked on research tackling the impact of pollution. Mouser鈥檚 recent work focused specifically on PFAS 鈥� toxic substances found in many industrial and consumer products known as 鈥渇orever chemicals鈥� for their persistence in the environment.听

When the opportunity to join forces on a project combatting PFAS arose through a grant from the New Hampshire Agriculture Experiment Station focused specifically on interdisciplinary projects, the pair jumped at it. It wasn鈥檛 the combined research capacity that was most invigorating, though, but rather the potential power of blending ideologies and outlooks.听

鈥淲hen I saw the call for proposals in that collaborative space, I thought, let鈥檚 combine the ways we think about the world,鈥� Wymore says.听

Mouser thinks about the world from the 鈥渃hemistry side of things,鈥� Wymore says, and brought extensive expertise in the ways that PFAS molecules interact with microbial communities. Wymore鈥檚 expertise, on the other hand, lies in watersheds and considering the ways in which pollutants enter, move through and are exported from systems.听

The result is a project measuring PFAS (which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) levels听in precipitation, agricultural soils and a regional watershed to better understand the concentration and deposition of these chemicals in the landscape.听The researchers are looking at a focused list of 40 PFAS that move through the environment in precipitation and runoff, particularly in a southeastern New Hampshire watershed.听Understanding the magnitude of PFAS from precipitation is important on multiple levels 鈥� for residents concerned about the safety and quality of drinking water, and for water treatment plants that will encounter PFAS that make their way to surface water.听

鈥淭he underlying directive of our work is to try to characterize these background or ambient levels of PFAS in precipitation and look at how land use affects those levels,鈥� Mouser says.听

This interdisciplinary approach has allowed both researchers to help lead the charge on an issue increasingly in the spotlight.听

鈥淚t allowed us to connect on a conceptual framework about how we think about the environment,鈥� Wymore says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really exciting space for us to collaborate in.鈥澨�

鈥淚t鈥檚 really about educating each other 鈥� on the sample sites from his side, and then also the appropriate sampling approach from my side. So, there鈥檚 been a lot of great interaction,鈥� Mouser says.听

Funding for the research Mouser and Wymore are tackling covered the inclusion of two graduate students, Katherine Wieck and Bailey Mullins, which is significant in that it 鈥渆nables the next听generation of scientists to be explicitly trained in this interdisciplinary space,鈥� Wymore says.听

Mouser and Wymore aren鈥檛 alone at 91制片厂 in terms of teaming up across the disciplines to investigate PFAS.听

Scott Lemos, senior lecturer of business administration, and John Halstead, professor of environmental economics, partnered on a study that found that households on public water systems are willing to pay an average of $13.07 a month, or $156.84 annually, on their monthly bills to protect themselves from PFAS.听

鈥淭he biggest takeaway is that clean drinking water matters deeply to people, and they鈥檙e willing to pay to protect it,鈥� Lemos says.听

鈥淧FAS isn鈥檛 just an environmental issue 鈥� it touches public health, economics and even housing. Bringing together people with different expertise means we can see the whole picture.鈥�

Lemos and Halstead both say they similarly benefited from the synergy of their areas of focus.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 really important that physical scientists understand the human element of exposure to substances like PFAS. Likewise, it鈥檚 impossible for social scientists to work with the public and policy makers if they don鈥檛 know at least enough about the underlying science to know what questions to ask,鈥� Halstead says.听

Adds Lemos: 鈥淭he interdisciplinary approach is everything. PFAS isn鈥檛 just an environmental issue 鈥� it touches public听health, economics, and even housing. Bringing together people with different expertise means we can see the whole picture.鈥澨�

Thanks in no small part to 91制片厂 research efforts, New Hampshire is among the national leaders in monitoring and regulating PFAS. But the researchers envision their work reaching beyond the Granite State.听

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 about informing the conversation at a really local scale, but there haven鈥檛 been many of these types of precipitation studies done within the United States, so I think we can help inform some of that conversation, too,鈥� says Mouser.听

That intersection of local and global impact helps drive the excitement around finding solutions to PFAS, as the researchers contribute to an issue in their own community while moving a larger discussion forward and positioning 91制片厂 as a trailblazer in that space.听

鈥淚f we can be leaders in that way, if we can help people understand and develop these protocols, it could have broadly applicable results. It鈥檚 a global issue, but it will become a global solution, too,鈥� Wymore says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really nice example of something that is locally relevant but that you have to think globally about at the same time. All of our communities are connected to each other, and we have an impact on one another even if we鈥檙e not right next door.鈥澨�