Purdue Researchers Score $2.5M Grant
A team of researchers at Purdue University has received a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. The grant will fund a five-year study to see how amphibians are affected by chemicals used in everyday commercial products and firefighting foams.
The study is part of an effort by the DOD’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program to develop an environmental risk assessment for military testing sites. Purdue says the research team will examine the effects of exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, over the life span of the eastern tiger salamander, northern leopard frog and American toad, all of which are native to Indiana.
PFAS are chemicals that are fire-resistant and repel water, fat and other substances. Purdue says their resistant properties make them difficult to eliminate from the environment. The DOD’s concern is at military testing and training sites, where firefighting foams which contain the chemicals may be used many times in the same area.
Purdue says additional funding has been awarded to groups studying the same effects on birds and reptiles.