Prof. Raju Badirreddy is conducting the first study in Vermont to survey for the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. This research will provide a dataset on city-level total infection trends over time, and serve as an indicator of potential infection increases that will be used to inform decision making.

Also, in a first of this kind investigation in the United States, Badireddy mapped the background PFAS concentrations (areas suspected to be not contaminated) in top soils in Vermont. The study showed that Vermont soils typically contained total PFAS concentration in the range of 540- 35,000 ng per Kg of dry soil. Motivated by this research several other states are conducting similar studies and Badireddy’s results are being used to develop interim regulatory advisories for PFAS in soils in six states.