NATURAL ORGANIC MATTER (OM) IS THE DECAYED AND DECAYING REMAINS OF PLANT AND MICROBIAL BIOMASS. IT IS EVER-PRESENT IN SOIL AND WATER. DISSOLVED AND SOLID FORMS OF OM PLAY CRUCIAL ROLES IN THE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH AND THE FATE OF CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS AND AGRICHEMICALS IN SOIL. A KEY TO CHARACTERIZING THESE ROLES IS A MOLECULAR-LEVEL UNDERSTANDING OF THE FORCES GOVERNING THE BINDING OF OM MOLECULES WITH EACH OTHER, TO NATURAL PARTICLES INCLUDING SOIL PARTICLES, AND TO NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS. WE POSTULATE THAT STRONG AND SPECIAL MOLECULAR BONDS EXIST BETWEEN WEAKLY ACIDIC GROUPS ON OM MOLECULES AND WEAKLY ACIDIC GROUPS ON OTHER MOLECULES AND SURFACES.THESE BONDS AREKNOWN AS CHARGE-ASSISTED HYDROGEN BONDS, OR CAHB. SUCH BONDS HAVE BEEN KNOWN IN CHEMISTRY FOR SOME TIME BUT HAVE BEEN OVERLOOKED IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOIL CHEMISTRY TO THIS POINT. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ARE TO TEST CERTAIN HYPOTHESES THAT CAHB CONTRIBUTES TO OM COHESIVE FORCES, ADHESIVE FORCES WITH PARTICLE SURFACES, AND BINDING OF CERTAIN TYPES OF CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS. THE TEST MATERIALS INCLUDE OM REFERENCE MATERIALS, OM-RICH SOILS, AND LAB-PREPARED WOODY CHARS, AND THE PROJECT WILL TARGET WEAK ACIDS PHOSPHATE, PYROPHOSPHATE, PHENOLIC ACID ROOT EXUDATES, THE ANTIBIOTIC SULFAMETHOXAZOLE, THE FUNGICIDE P-AMINOBENZONIC ACID, AND THE ANALGESIC PARACETAMOL. OBJECTIVE 1 WILL INVESTIGATE BINDING FORCES BETWEEN MOLECULES DISSOLVED IN WATER. OBJECTIVE 2 WILL INVESTIGATE BINDING OF DISSOLVED OM WITH CARBONACEOUS SURFACES OF PARTICLES. OBJECTIVE 3 WILL EXAMINE THE BINDING BETWEEN OM AND CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS BOTH DISSOLVED IN WATER. THIS HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN PROJECT ADDRESSES GOALS OF THE SOIL HEALTH PRIORITY OF THE AFRI PROGRAM OF NIFA. THE POSTULATED CAHB POTENTIALLY IMPACTS OM AGGREGATION IN WATER, SOIL OM SOLUBILITY IN WATER, TRANSPORT OF OM THROUGH THE SOIL, THE STABILITY OF SOIL CARBON, PH BUFFERING IN SOIL, THE INTERACTION BETWEEN SOIL PARTICLES AND ROOT EXUDATE COMPOUNDS, ADSORPTION OF DISSOLVED OM ON PARTICLES, AND THE BINDING OF CONTAMINANTS AND NUTRIENTS TO SOLID AND DISSOLVED FORMS OF OM. THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED MAY LEAD TO STRATEGIES THAT REDUCE CROP UPTAKE OF CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS, THEREBY PROTECTING FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY.