The Air, Water and Soil Pollutants (AWSP) focus group addresses exposures that may drive the high rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), as well as a variety of cancers, including lung and bronchial cancer, in Chicago due to these pollutants.

Of the Top 50 polluters in Cook County in 2015, 60% were near African American and Latino communities. Water quality in Chicago is likewise also a major concern. Members of this focus group have identified persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as PCBs, dioxins, brominated flame-retardants, and pharmaceuticals in Lake Michigan sediments and placentas of women who delivered babies at the UIC hospital. AWSP members are also investigating the health effects of arsenic in water locally and globally. Other industrial heavy metals under study (chromium, lead, manganese) are linked to declining renal function, hypertension, cancers, learning disabilities, and other serious chronic health conditions.