This contract will cover the exposure assessment phase of a project to identify workplace exposures of embalmers that may be associated with risks of cancers of the lymphatic and hematopoietic system, brain and buccal cavity and pharynx. The Contractor shall provide technical, managerial and clerical support for the project. The monitoring to be conducted under this contract shall provide information on exposures to supplement that being obtained by interview in a casecontrol study of embalmers under another contract. The goal is to provide documentation of exposure levels for a selected group of chemicals which are associated with work tasks described by embalmers during interviews. The objectives of this contract, using information provided by NCI, are to: 1) document, through environmental monitoring, levels of exposure of embalmers to formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, phenol and other selected chemicals; 2) evaluate the effect of workplace variables by monitoring exposures while changing the variables and 3) obtain blood and urine samples on a limited number of embalmers to assess delivered dose and early evidence of biologic damage from the selected chemicals noted in objective 1, for which feasible and suitable analytic methods are currently available. Biologic monitoring results will be correlated with ambient air levels. Characterization of major workplace exposures is the objective of this contract.
