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Allen Burton

Professor
Ecosystem Science and Management
Water
burtonal@umich.edu
(734) 763-3601
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1068 Dana
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About

Dr. Burton is a Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability and Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan.  He has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Roskilde (Denmark), a Concurrent Professor at Nanjing University and Honorary Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment in Beijing China. His research has taken him to all seven continents with Visiting Scientist positions in China, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand and Portugal.  His research deals with freshwater and marine sediment, stormwater and aquatic contaminants; understanding chemical bioavailability, stressor causality linkages, real-time assessments of oil spills and ecological risk.  He has received over 20 million dollars in extramural research funding.  While at the University of Michigan he has served as Director of the Institute for Global Change Biology, the Water Center and the Cooperative Institute of Limnology and Ecosystems Research.  He was a Distinguished Faculty Fellow of the Graham Sustainability Institute and the Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research. Currently he is the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal, Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry, a Fellow and past President of the international Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry, while serving on numerous national and international panels with over 225 peer-reviewed publications.

Publications

  • Net methylmercury production in two contrasting stream sediments and associated accumulation and toxicity to periphyton
  • Macroinvertebrate responses to nickel in multi-system exposures. Environ Toxicol Chem
  • Toxicological effects of short-term resuspension of metal contaminated freshwater and marine sediments.
  • Development of a bioavailability-based risk assessment approach for nickel in freshwater sediments. Integr Environ Assess & Mgmt.
  • Microplastic as a Vector for Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment. Critical Review and Model-Supported Re-interpretation of Empirical Studies.
  • Watch lecture on video: Adverse Effects of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems are Questionable
  • A novel in-situ Toxicity Identification Evaluation (iTIE) system for determining which chemicals drive impairments at contaminated sites.   doi.org/10.1002/et.4799
  • Tracking and assessing oil spill toxicity to aquatic organisms: a novel approach.           doi: 10.1002/etc.5000.
  • Hyporheic interactions increase zinc exposure and effects to Hyalella azteca in sediments.  doi.org/10.1002/etc.4554
  • Laboratory and field-based assessment of the effects of sediment capping materials on zinc flux, bioavailability and toxicity. doi.org/10.1002/etc.4612
  • Metacommunities, meta-ecosystems, and the environmental fate of chemical contaminants.  doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13054

Research

Current Projects

  • An in situ Toxicity Identification Evaluation (iTIE) Technology for Assessing Contaminated Sediments, Remediation Success, Recontamination and Source Identification. SERDP. $1,220,000.
  • Ecotoxicological Study of Waters Adjacent to South Pond (Ludington, MI).  Dow Chemical subcontract to Jacobs Engineering. $85,087
  • Field Testing of an In Situ Bioassay System (DEEAR) at Oil Sites. NOAA.  2021. $141,000. 
  • Assessment of Doce River Mining Contamination.  Hydrobiologia. 2021-2022. $34,418.
Education

PhD, University of Texas at Dallas (environmental science: aquatic toxicology)

MS, University of Texas at Dallas (environmental science: aquatic toxicology)

MS, Auburn University (microbiology)

BS, Ouachita Baptist University (biology and chemistry)

Affiliations
  • Board of Advisors. University of North Texas, Inaugural Board of Advisors for the Advanced Environmental Research Institute. 2016-2019.
  • Expert Panel. Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (2016-2019)
  • Advisory Panel.  Ecological Toxicity Advisory Panel. Non-Ferrous Metals Research Associations.  2000-present.
  • Program Review Panel.  University of North Texas Department of Biological Sciences. 2015.
  • Chair, Global Partners Committee, Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry. 2014-2015.
In the Media
08/24/2022
Allen Burton
Is your tap water safe to drink? Here are steps to take to ensure that it is (WXYZ-TV))
09/11/2021
Allen Burton
3M's support for PFAS could cost taxpayers billions of dollars (Star Tribune)
07/08/2021
Allen Burton
Storms push 10B gallons of sewage into Michigan waterways. Here's where (The Detroit News)
06/12/2021
Allen Burton
Below aging U.S. dams, a potential toxic calamity (Salon)
06/01/2021
Allen Burton
Below Aging U.S. Dams, a Potential Toxic Calamity (Undark Magazine)
07/09/2020
Allen Burton
State Refuses to Release Decades of Con Edison Pollution Reports, Lawsuit Charges (The City)
05/22/2020
Allen Burton
Flood raises fears of pollution at Michigan toxic waste site (Associated Press)
05/21/2020
Allen Burton
After flood reached Dow, Superfund pollution site, regulators have yet to test water (The Detroit News)
05/21/2020
Allen Burton
Dow critics skeptical of company’s claim floodwaters pose no threat of contamination (MLive)
05/20/2020
Allen Burton
As floodwaters bear down on Dow Chemical, worries about water toxins (Bridge Magazine)
05/20/2020
Allen Burton
Flooding of Dow's Midland facilities raises contamination fears at Superfund site (The Detroit News)
05/20/2020
Allen Burton
Michigan governor wants investigation of dam failures that have caused devastating flooding (CNN)
05/20/2020
Allen Burton
Thousands evacuated as river dams break in central Michigan (Associated Press)
05/20/2020
Allen Burton
Dam Failure Threatens a Dow Chemical Complex and Superfund Cleanup (The New York Times)
09/01/2019
Allen Burton
'We'll find [plastics] like we find old artifacts'
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