Research interests: From chemical oceanography and paleoceanography, my interests have increasingly turned to interactions between the environment and human health. The theme that runs through my on-going projects is that patterns of contamination, e.g. arsenic (As) in well water of across South Asia or lead (Pb) in soil contaminated with mine tailings in the Peruvian Andes, are spatially highly variable. This complicates prediction but also creates opportunities for mitigation. My students and I promote more widespread deployment of field kits for testing water and soil, developing new kits if necessary, in order to identify and avoid exposure to toxins of children in particular. I tend to focus on the vulnerability of (and access to) uncontaminated water or soil by working with earth scientists and engineers, as well as public health and social scientists.

Contact:Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

              Columbia University

              Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964, USA

              Phone: (845) 365 8644;  Fax: (845) 365 8154

              E-mail: avangeen@ldeo.columbia.edu