The Community Outreach Core (COC) will work with the Research Translation Core (RTC), with our Advisory Boards in East Chicago, Indiana and Columbus Junction, Iowa and with school principals in Chicago to address their environmental concerns through measurements of airborne PCBs in their communities, integration of these activities with ongoing educational programs, and dissemination of the findings to the communities at large. The Community Advisory Board in Indiana has for several years felt that PCS contamination from industrial sources in its community is a potential health problem. Projects 4 and 6 are outgrowths of these concerns. The detailed exposure measurements in families, homes, schools and around the proposed storage site for the dredging of the Indiana Harbor directly address these issues. Although PCB contamination is of less concern to the communities in Columbus Junction and Chicago, both these groups have a long history of working with project investigators on asthma related projects and are enthusiastic about extending their involvement to examination of airborne PCBs. Measurements in these communities will build upon well developed existing infrastructures, utilizing the resources of the schools and mobile vans in Chicago that regularly visit 43 schools in the city. During the implementation phase of the project we will hire community residents to assist in data collection and educational programs, which will be integrated into existing activities at local schools and community agencies. The Advisory Boards will meet regularly throughout the project, assist in organizing related activities, serve as liaisons with the communities at large, and work with the investigators on dissemination of project findings.
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