Grantee Research Project Results

2000 Progress Report: Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem

EPA Grant Number: R827039C001
Subproject: this is subproject number 001 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R827039
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development in Puerto Rico
Center Director: Alshawabkeh, Akram
Title: Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem
Investigators: Brenner, Barbara , Wolff, Mary S.
Institution: Mount Sinai School of Medicine
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Project Period: August 1, 1998 through July 31, 2003 (Extended to July 31, 2004)
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 1999 through July 31, 2000
Project Amount: Refer to main center abstract for funding details.
RFA: Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Children's Health , Human Health

Objective:

The objective is to determine exposures to pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and lead.

Progress Summary:

A maximum of 150 pregnant women receiving prenatal care at Boriken Neighborhood Health Center and delivering at Mount Sinai are being recruited to participate in the study. A questionnaire is being administered to determine their exposures to pesticides, PCBs, and lead. Approximately 2 weeks later, a home visit is being conducted to collect dust and/or air samples as well as urine. If there are small children in the households, their hands and/or stuffed animals are being wiped in an effort to collect dust.

At this same visit, a visual inspection of the household is being conducted and roach monitors are being installed to ascertain the structural condition of the home and a baseline for the number of roaches in the home. These monitors are collected within 24 hours. After the dust and air have been analyzed at the Mount Sinai laboratory, within 2 to 4 weeks, subjects are being informed, via a visit, of the level of pesticide exposure found in dust and/or air collected. If pesticides are present, the Health Educator, Community Outreach Worker, and Handyman from the study assist the subjects in implementing Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

IPM is an environmentally safe practice that reduces pest while minimizing the use of pesticides. In order to ensure subjects discontinue the use of spraying pesticides during the life of the study, the above mentioned team will be available to assist in controlling the pest population. In the subsequent years, there will be two additional visits where dust and/or air and urine will be collected. The rest of the visit will be dedicated to pest control and roach monitoring.

To date, there are 10 subjects in our study that were recruited in August 1999 after the pilot had been administered. We anticipate enrolling approximately 15 subjects per month until the desired 150 is reached.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 3 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

Health, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Toxics, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Health Risk Assessment, pesticides, Risk Assessments, Biology, genetic susceptability, Environmental Chemistry, Children's Health, Genetics, infants, sensitive populations, genotyping, susceptability to pesticides, biological response, organophosphate pesticides, pesticide exposure, human exposure, genetic risk factors, genetic susceptibility, susceptibility, pesticide residues, children, individual variation, exposure, children's vulnerablity, assessment of exposure, PCBs, molecular research, human susceptibility

Relevant Websites:

http://www.childenvironment.org/ Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R827039 Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development in Puerto Rico

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R827039C001 Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem
R827039C002 Exposure to Indoor Pesticides and PCBs and their Effects on Growth and Neurodevelopment in Urban Children
R827039C003 Genetics of Chlorpyrifos Risk in Minority Populations
R827039C004 Prenatal PCB Exposure and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Adolescence and Adulthood
R827039C005 Neuroendocrine Mechanisms of Environmental Toxicants: PCBs and Pesticides

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.