UA lab to check for toxic 'needles in haystack'

A lab to study environmental contaminants potentially toxic to human health opened Wednesday at the University of Arizona.

The Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants, known as ALEC, uses super-sensitive instruments to test water, soil and tissue for minute amounts of substances such as uranium, heavy metals and organic compounds, including pharmaceuticals, said Jon Chorover, co-director of the lab.

"We're looking at what individuals are being exposed to in their environment," Chorover said.

"Most other equipment doesn't have the sensitivity to go to the very low levels these compounds exist at in natural waters," he said. "We take samples and find the needles in a haystack."

Planned research includes determining how contaminants move in the environment, Chorover said.

"Our main goal is to serve the Arizona water research community, public, private or government," said John Chesley, co-director at ALEC.

The lab is available to researchers from the state's three universities, as well as other water agencies, Chesley said.

The facility offers hands-on testing, and faculty and students can run their own samples, he said.

"We're offering the research capability to do fundamental science and education," he said.

The 2,000-square-foot lab, on the eighth floor of UA's Gould-Simpson Building, 1040 E. Fourth St., cost about $1.4 million, of which a National Science Foundation grant covered about $600,000, Chesley said.

Backing came from UA colleges of science, agriculture and life sciences, engineering and pharmacy, Chorover said.

Emerging contaminants are substances - including Viagra, estrogen and Prozac that are raising alarms as potential hazards when found in water or foods containing or grown with contaminated water.

These contaminants are a growing concern in Arizona, where water is a precious resource.

UA scientists Leif Abrell and Mary Kay Amistadi will run the mass spectrometry instruments to detect organic and inorganic materials in samples.

Joaquin Ruiz, dean of the UA College of Science, praised ALEC's collaborative aspect.

"The lab takes into account all the strengths we have here at the university," he said.