HSPH Superfund Research Program

plex health and environmental issues originating at hazardous waste sites. Health concerns of aging—especially cognitive decline and memory loss in older age—have huge public health implications as the United States and world populations are shifting in distribution toward older ages. While a variety of toxicants contribute to cognitive aging, we are focused on heavy metals (Pb, As, Mn, Cd, Cr, and Se) and metal mixtures because, despite years of regulation, clean-up, and remediation efforts, metal contamination in many Superfund sites persists and continues to threaten public health. The mission of our Superfund center is to understand and mitigate the effects of exposure, particularly early life exposure, to metals and metal mixtures on late life cognitive health.