Courtesy Professor
Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health
College of Public Health
University of Nebraska Medical Center
and
Professor
Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology of Xenobiotics
School of Natural Resources, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Professional Summary
- 2011 Interim Co-Director, Center for Environmental Health and Toxicology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha
- 2007 to 2011 Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha
- 2000 to 2001 Associate Director and Coordinator of Research, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 1997 to present Professor, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 1993 to 1997 Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 1986 to 1993 Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 1981 to 1986 Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Other University Affiliations
- Courtesy Professor, Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health (UNMC)
- Courtesy Professor, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture (UNL)
- Faculty, Center for Environmental Health and Toxicology (NU)
- Faculty Affiliate, Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute (NU)
- Faculty Affiliate, Water Center and Center for Biotechnology (UNL)
- Faculty, Environmental Engineering Graduate Program (UNL)
Education
- 1981, PhD, North Carolina State University
- 1979, MS, University of Connecticut
- 1975, BS, Fordham University
Research interests
Activities broadly encompass the environmental chemistry and toxicology of xenobiotics in soil-water-biotic systems, with specific research in surface and groundwater contamination, environmental remediation, chemical mobility and bioavailability, exposures and impacts, and detoxification processes. Research interests are both disciplinary and interdisciplinary and include protection and management of natural resources and ecosystems, ecological and environmental toxicology, chemicals in agricultural production systems, remediation and restoration of contaminated environments, health and environmental impacts, and protecting and improving public health. Outreach and extension activities involve guiding and educating practitioners and the public in assessment and management of pesticides and other xenobiotics in the environment, as well as mitigating adverse impacts and remediating contaminated soil and water.
Selected Publications
- Joshi, N., M.G. Rhoades, G.D. Bennett, S.M. Wells, S.S. Mirvish, M.J. Breitbach, and P.J. Shea 2013. Developmental abnormalities in chicken embryos exposed to N-nitrosoatrazine. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health, Part A 76:1015-1022.
- Rhoades, M.G., J.L. Meza, C.L. Beseler, P.J. Shea, A. Kahle, J.M. Vose, K.M. Eskridge, and R.F. Spalding. 2013. Atrazine and nitrate in public drinking water supplies and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Nebraska, U.S.A. Environ. Health Insights 7:15-27.
- Wei, H-R., M.G. Rhoades, and P.J. Shea. 2011. Formation, adsorption, and stability of N-nitrosoatrazine in water and soil. Pages 3-19 In: It's All in the Water: Studies of Materials and Conditions in Fresh and Salt Water Bodies, M.A.
- Benvenuto, ed. American Chemical Society Symposium Series. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
- Vasilyeva, G.K., E.R. Strijakova, S.N. Nicolaeva, A.T. Lebedev and P.J. Shea. 2010. Dynamics of PCB removal and detoxification in historically contaminated soils amended with activated carbon. Environmental Pollution 158:770-777.
- Kolok, A.S., C.L. Beseler, X-H. Chen, and P.J. Shea. 2009. The watershed as a conceptual framework for the study of environmental and human health. Environ. Health Insights 3:1-10.
- Boparai, H.K., P.J. Shea, S.D. Comfort, and T.A. Machacek. 2008. Sequencing zerovalent iron treatment with carbon amendments to remediate agrichemical-contaminated soil. Water, Air and Soil Poll. 193:189-196.
- Shea, P.J., T.A. Machacek, and S.D. Comfort. 2004. Accelerated remediation of pesticide-contaminated soil with zerovalent iron. Environmental Pollution 132:183-188.
- Boparai, H.K., S.D. Comfort, P.J. Shea, and J.E. Szecsody. 2008. Remediating explosive-contaminated groundwater by in situ redox manipulation (ISRM) of aquifer sediments. Chemosphere 71:933-941.
- Park, J., S.D. Comfort, P.J. Shea, and T.A. Machacek. 2004. Remediating munitions-contaminated soil with zerovalent iron and cationic surfactants. J. Environ. Qual. 33:1305-1313.
- Vasilyeva, G.K., V.D. Kreslavski, B.-T. Oh, and P.J. Shea. 2001. Potential of activated carbon to decrease 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene toxicity and accelerate soil decontamination. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 20:965-971.
Professional Affiliations
- Board of Scientific Advisors, American Council on Science and Health
- American Association of University Professors
- American Public Health Association
- Sigma XI, Gamma Sigma Delta, Nebraska Academy of Sciences
- American Chemical Society, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists
- Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Society of Toxicology Central States Chapter
- American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America