Faculty Profiles

Professor Masten's research involves the use of chemical oxidants for the remediation of soils, water, and leachates contaminated with hazardous organic chemicals. Her research is presently focused on the in-situ use of gaseous ozone to oxidize residual contaminant in saturated soils using ozone sparging and in unsaturated soils using soil venting. Dr. Masten is also very interested in evaluating the toxicity of the by-products of chemical oxidation processes as measured by gap junction intercellular communication. Work has focused on the ozonation and chlorination of several pesticides, including atrazine, alachlor, and lindane and on the PAHs, especially pyrene. Current work is being conducted to identify the by-products formed opon the ozonation of several PAHs and to assess their toxicity.