Jennifer Weidhaas, associate professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, for her latest project, “Collaborative Research: Wastewater exposome as an untapped source for understanding air pollution burden in environmental justice communities.” Weidhaas will lead the project with Randal Martin, a professor at Utah State University.
The research, which will continue into 2027, aims to uncover the environmental burdens faced by disadvantaged communities by offering a non-invasive method to verify air pollution exposure to toxic effects on humans through wastewater analysis.
Chronic diseases, a major cause of preventable deaths in the U.S., are often linked to air pollution, which is known to exacerbate asthma, respiratory diseases, and other health issues. Weidhaas’s research is pioneering preventative solutions to mitigate these preventable deaths.
By analyzing air pollution metabolites found in urine, researchers can directly confirm human exposure to pollutants and the magnitude of health effects. This innovative project aims to explore the impact of air pollution on environmental justice communities by correlating air pollution levels, urine markers of exposure, and wastewater data. The findings may extend beyond air pollution to monitor other diseases, including cancer and mental health disorders.
Continue reading at the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.