Engagement

Native Americans in Maine and people living in the Mystic River Watershed in Massachusetts have expressed serious concerns about contaminants in their environments. In both locations, people are negatively impacted by legacy contaminants, and in both cases, there are Environmental Justice communities of concern. The Loring Air Force Base Superfund site impacts the Native Americans, and the Industri-Plex, Wells G&H, and Olin Superfund sites impact people living in the Mystic River Watershed (a land area north and east of Boston, covering 76 square miles that drains into rivers feeding into the Boston Harbor). The MIT-SRP brings engineering and scientific innovation to bear on critical problems relevant to our stakeholders in Maine and Massachusetts. Our problem-oriented program centers around two pervasive contaminants, N-nitrosamines (potently carcinogenic to animals) and PAHs (carcinogenic to people). Both of these contaminants are broadly important as they are present in multiple Superfund sites and they continue to be produced by ongoing industrial activities today. The MIT SRP with its diverse expertise (from engineers, to chemists, to biologists.