Faculty Profile
Jerome Nriagu, PhD, DSc
- Emeritus Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
- Research Professor, Center for Human Growth and Development
Prof. Nriagu's research and teaching programs center around three main issues: (i) sources, behavior, fate and effects of metals in the natural and contaminated environments; (ii) environmental justice and disproportionate exposure of communities to environmental pollutants; and (iii) environmental health problems in the developing countries. His work includes applied laboratory and field studies and has led to 30 books (authored/edited) and over 300 published articles. From 2000 to 2008, he was listed as one of the most cited scientists in the fields of Environmental Studies and Ecology. He was the director of the Environmental Health Program from 1996 to 2006, and has been active in a number of community-based organizations. Before joining the department in 1993, he was a research scientist with Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario. Prof. Nriagu was the Editor-in-chief of the journal Science of the Total Environment (one of the leading environmental science journals), Editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia of Environmental Health (in five volumes) published in 2011, and the editor of book series published by Wiley-Interscience (New York), Elsevier Science (Amsterdam), and Maralte Publishers (Leiden). In 1987, he was awarded the first ever meritorious Doctor of Science degree by the University of Ibadan (Nigeria). Prof. Nriagu is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His other awards include Senior Fulbright Fellowship and distinguished Alexander von Humbolt Research Prize.
- DSc, University of Ibadam (Meritorious), 1987
- PhD, University of Toronto, 1970
- MS, University of Wisconsin, 1967
- BSc, University of Ibadan, 1965
Research Interests:
Research activities in recent years include natural and anthropogenic sources of trace
metals at the local, regional and global scales; potential impacts of global change
on metal cycles; processes and mechanisms of cycling of pollutants (especially heavy
metals) in air, water and soil leading to human exposure; biomarkers of exposure and
effects of metals from analysis of body fluid and tissue samples; trace metals in
human oral environment; water quality issues in the Great Lakes; behavior of metal
ions and oxyanions in water treatment systems; environmental risk factors for asthma;
environmental justice within the community-based research framework; lead pollution
and lead poisoning in communities in various parts of the world; chemistry of arsenic
in groundwater; dermal and carcinogenic effects of exposure to arsenic in drinking
water. Some of the research has been conducted in the developing countries.
Research Projects:
Middle Eastern Masculinities in the Age of New Reproductive Technologies Sponsor:
NSF
Development of Indoor Air Quality Education and Information Materials Sponsor: State of Michigan - MDCH
In-Situ Immobilization and Stabilization of Contaminated Great Lakes Sponsor: OVPR Award - University of Michigan
Nriagu JO, Martin J, Smith P, Socier D (2012). Residential hazards, high asthma prevalence and multimorbidity among children in Saginaw, Michigan Science of the Total Environment 53-61.
Halder D, Bhowmick S, Biswas A, Mandal U, Nriagu JO, Guha-Mazumber DN, Chatterjee D, Bhattacharya P (2012). Consumption of brown rice: a potential pathway for arsenic exposure in rural Bengal, India Environmental Science and Technology 4142-4148.
Smith P, Nriagu JO. (January, 2011). Lead poisoning and asthma among low-income and African American children in Saginaw, Michigan. Environmental Research 81-86.
Basu N, Nam DH, Kwansaa-Ansah E, Renne EP, Nriagu JO. (April, 2011). Multiple metals exposure in a small-scale artisanal gold mining community. Environmental Research 463-467.
Nriagu JO (February, 2011). Oil Industry and the Health of Communities in the Niger Delta of Nigeri In JO Nriagu, Editor-in-Chief (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 240-250. Elsevier
Meliker JR, Goovaerts P, Jacquez GM, Nriagu JO. (October, 2010). Incorporating individual-level distributions of exposure error in epidemiologic analyses: an example using arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer. Annals of Epidemiology 750-758.
Rivera-NUnez Z, Meliker JR, Linder AM, Nriagu JO (April, 2010). Reliability of spot urine samples in assessing arsenic exposure. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health.
Nriagu JO, Afeiche M, Linder A, Arowolo T, Ana G, Sridhar MK, Oloruntoba EO, Obi E, Ebenebe JC, Orisakwe OE, Adesina A (October, 2008). Lead poisoning associated with malaria in children in urban areas of Nigeria International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 591-605.
Meliker, J.R., Slotnick, M.J., Avruskin, G.A., Kaufmann, A., Fedewa, S.A., Goovaerts, P., Jacquez, G.M., Nriagu, J.O. (2007). Individual lifetime exposure to inorganic arsenic using a space-time information system. International Archives in Occupational and Environvironmental Health 184-197.
Nriagu, J.O., Burt, B., Linder, A., Ismail, A. and S. Woosung (2006). Lead levels in blood and saliva in a low-income population of Detroit, Michigan. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 109-121.
Email: [email protected]
Office: 734-936-0706
Fax: 734-936-7283
Address:
6623 SPH Tower
1415 Washington Heights
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2029