Grantee Research Project Results

2000 Progress Report: Community-Based Participatory Research Project

EPA Grant Number: R826886C003
Subproject: this is subproject number 003 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R826886
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions
Center Director: Robinson, Allen
Title: Community-Based Participatory Research Project
Investigators: Faustman, Elaine
Institution: University of Washington
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Project Period: August 1, 1998 through December 31, 2003
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 overall goal of this project is to reduce pesticide exposure in children of farm workers in the Yakima Valley of Washington State by breaking the pesticide “take-home” pathway. The specific aims are to: (1) develop a culturally appropriate intervention to break the pesticide take-home pathway; (2) conduct a randomized, controlled community trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention as assessed by examining, as the primary outcome, changes in the urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites of children between the ages of 2 and 5 who reside with farm workers; and (3) assess the secondary effects of the intervention by examining changes in pesticide concentrations in house dust in the residential environments of farm workers; changes in the urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites of farm workers; and changes in self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and practices of farm workers regarding protection from pesticide exposure for children.

Progress Summary:

The Community Intervention Project (CIP) is comprised of two groups located in three different geographical areas that work together to conduct the community intervention portion of the Child Health Center (CHC). Group 1 is based at the University of Washington (UW) Pacific Northwest Agriculture Safety and Health (PNASH) Center, and Group 2 is based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and the “field location” at Sunnyside, Washington.

Group 1—CIP at the University of Washington’s PNASH Center

In Year 1 the CIP-UW group worked with the CIP-FHCRC group to ensure that proper laboratory methods were employed in the collection of urine and dust samples from farmworkers and their homes and automobiles. Year 2 activities were devoted primarily to analysis of urine and dust samples and statistical analysis of these data. This work has resulted in a Master’s Thesis written by Cynthia Curl. Work by our group was closely coordinated with the work of the CHC Exposure Assessment Core. The major findings of this work are reported in the 2000 Annual Report of the Exposure Assessment Core (see the report for R826886, the overall Center report).

The key finding from these analyses was a determination that intervention and control communities did not differ significantly in terms of pesticide metabolite concentrations in either child or adult urine. There were also no significant differences across these two groups in pesticide concentrations in house or vehicle dust. These data also allow us to compare children’s exposure levels in the Yakima region with exposure levels of children in the Chelan-Douglas county region (a similar agricultural region north of Yakima) and to exposure levels of children in the Seattle metropolitan area. We are currently developing a lay interpretation of these data for the CIP Community Advisory Board and also plan to produce a report for risk managers that integrates the findings across the studies we have conducted in Washington state over the past 8 years.

Future Activities:

Project 1—CIP at the University of Washington’s PNASH Center

In year 3, CIP-UW will complete statistical analysis of urine and dust data collected and submit several manuscripts based on these data. We will also continue our liaison efforts with the FHCRC group and assist in planning sample collection during year 4.

Journal Articles:

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

Supplemental Keywords:

, Health, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Toxics, Health Risk Assessment, pesticides, Risk Assessments, State, Environmental Chemistry, Children's Health, Biochemistry, health effects, Human Health Risk Assessment, harmful environmental agents, pesticide residue, Washington (WA), biological response, environmental risks, pesticide exposure, human exposure, agricultural community, children, environmental health hazard, intervention, assessment of exposure, environmental toxicant, farmworkers, exposure assessment

Relevant Websites:

http://depts.washington.edu/chc/ Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R826886 Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R826886C001 Molecular Mechanisms of Pesticide-Induced Developmental Toxicity
R826886C002 Genetic Susceptibility to Pesticides (Paraoxonase Polymorphism or PON1 Study)
R826886C003 Community-Based Participatory Research Project
R826886C004 Pesticide Exposure Pathways Research Project

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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.