In Project 6 we will assess exposures to atmospheric PCBs among an urban cohort of children and theirmothers in a heavily contaminated area where dredging and filling of PCB-laden sediments will occur duringthe study period. Exposures will be assessed through repeated air sampling over four years inside andoutside of homes of subjects and at local schools and also through annual blood collection and assay forPCB congener profiles. These exposures will be compared to a rural site with the goal of characterizingatmospheric PCB exposures in high and low exposure residential cohorts. The urban site (East Chicago, IN)has a legacy of PCB contamination from intense past industrial activity whereas the rural site (ColumbusJunction, IA) is without local sources of PCBs. The overall goal of the study is to establish airborneexposures of ethnically mixed populations, most and least at risk for adverse health outcomes fromthe more volatile PCBs. The following Specific Aims are proposed:
Aim 1) Establish a residential cohort(n=108) in East Chicago.
Aim 2) Establish a residential cohort (n=108) in Columbus Jet.
Aim 3) Measureemissions and exposures of atmospheric PCBs at homes and schools over 4 years in the urban and ruralcohorts.
Aim 4) Gather demographic, residential, occupational, activity and dietary information from subjectsby questionnaire.
Aim 5) Analyze data from these cohorts and develop an exposure model for the atmosphericPCB congeners. The Indiana Harbor and Canal Dredging Project will place 4.5 million cubic yards ofPCB-contaminated sediment into a confined disposal facility (CDF) located within 1/2 km of the middle andhigh school in East Chicago. Thus, we will perform air and blood monitoring of nearby residents before andduring dredging and CDF filling and characterize determinants of exposure. Four primary hypotheses will betested: H,: Residents of East Chicago have significantly higher exposures to atmospheric PCBs and (H2:)significantly higher blood levels of atmospheric PCB congeners than people living in rural Iowa. H3: In theurban cohort and the rural cohort, the body burden of the atmospheric PCB congeners of adolescent subjectsare significantly correlated with those of their mothers. H4: Residents of East Chicago will experiencesignificantly increased exposures to atmospheric PCBs and increased blood PCB concentrations associatedtemporally with the dredging of Indiana Harbor and placement of sediments in the confined disposal facility.
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