Grantee Research Project Results
2001 Progress Report: School-Based Study of Complex Environmental Exposures and Related Health Effects in Children Part A - Exposure
EPA Grant Number: R825813Title: School-Based Study of Complex Environmental Exposures and Related Health Effects in Children Part A - Exposure
Investigators: Sexton, Ken , Greaves, Ian , Church, Timothy , Adgate, John L. , Tweedie, Richard L. , Ramachandran, Gurumurthy
Institution: University of Minnesota , The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: March 1, 1998 through March 1, 2001 (Extended to January 25, 2003)
Project Period Covered by this Report: March 1, 2000 through March 1, 2001
Project Amount: $899,264
RFA: Issues in Human Health Risk Assessment (1997) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Human Health
Objective:
The objectives of the SHIELD (School Health Initiative: Environment, Learning, and Disease) study are (1) to document complex exposure patterns involving multiple exposures to single chemicals and exposures to chemical mixtures for elementary-aged school children, (2) to examine temporal variability by monitoring complex exposures in these children over time, (3) to apportion the relative contribution to measured personal exposures of outdoor community air, air inside the child's school, and air inside the child's residence, (4) to evaluate the relationship between measured exposures and internal dose using biological markers of exposure in blood and urine, and (5) to compare children's complex exposures between a new school designed and operated to improve indoor air quality and an older school with more conventional architecture, mechanical systems, and furnishings.
Progress Summary:
Since the last report we have completed preliminary analysis of ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) biomarkers and are working on several manuscripts, including: (1) a summary of recruitment and retention results, (2) an analysis of predictive capabilities of questionnaire responses, and (3) a compilation of VOC (volatile organic chemical) results. A brief description of results related to ETS is provided below.
We quantified metabolites of the tobacco-specific lung carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-buanone (NNK) in the urine of elementary school-aged children participating in SHIELD. The metabolites of NNK are 4-(methylnitrosamino_1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and its glucuronide (NNAL-Gluc). We also measured cotinine and its glucuronide (total cotinine). Urine samples were collected for 204 children. Seventy (34%) of these had total cotinine >5 ng/ml. NNAL or NNAL-Gluc was detected in 52 of 54 samples with total cotinine >5 ng/ml and in 10 of 20 samples with total continine <5 ng/ml. Levels of NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc and total cotinine were significantly higher when exposure to ETS was reported than when no exposure was reported. However, even when no exposure to ETS was reported, levels of NNAL, NNAL-Gluc, and NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc were higher than in children with documented low exposure to ETS, as determined by continine levels <5 ng/ml. Levels of NNAL, NNAL-Gluc, and cotinine were not significantly different in samples collected twice from the same children at 3-month intervals. Levels of NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc in this study were comparable with those observed in our previous field studies of adults exposed to ETS. There was a 93-fold range of NNAL plus NNAL-Gluc values in exposed children. The results of this study demonstrate widespread and considerable uptake of the tobacco-specific carcinogen NNK in this group of elementary-aged children, raising important questions about potential health risks. Our data indicate that objective biomarkers of carcinogen uptake are important in studies of childhood exposure to ETS and cancer later in life.
Journal Articles on this Report : 5 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 5 publications | 5 publications in selected types | All 5 journal articles |
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Hecht SS, Ye M, Carmella SG, Fredrickson A, Adgate JL, Greaves IA, Church TR, Ryan AD, Mongin SJ, Sexton K. Metabolites of a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen in the urine of elementary school-aged children. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 2001;10(11):1109-1116. |
R825813 (2001) R826789 (2000) R826789 (2001) R826789 (2002) R826789 (Final) |
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Needham LL, Sexton K. Assessing children's exposure to hazardous environmental chemicals: an overview of selected research challenges and complexities. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 2000;10(6 Pt 2):611-629. |
R825813 (2001) R826789 (2002) R826789 (Final) |
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Ramachandran G, Adgate JL, Banerjee S, Church TR, Jones D, Fredrickson AL, Sexton K. Indoor air quality in two urban elementary schools—measurements of airborne fungi, carpet allergens, CO2, temperature, and relative humidity. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 2005;2(11):553-566. |
R825813 (2001) R826789 (Final) |
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Sexton K. Socioeconomic and racial disparities in environmental health: is risk assessment part of the problem or part of the solution? Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 2000;6(4):561-574. |
R825813 (2000) R825813 (2001) R825241 (Final) |
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Sexton K, Greaves IA, Church TR, Adgate JL, Ramachandran G, Tweedie RL, Fredrickson A, Geisser M, Sikorski M, Fischer G, Jones D, Ellringer P. A school-based strategy to assess children's environmental exposures and related health effects in economically disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 2000;10(6 Pt 2):682-694. |
R825813 (2000) R825813 (2001) R826789 (2000) R826789 (2001) R826789 (2002) R826789 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
children's health, environmental justice, environmental tobacco smoke, indoor air quality, metals, PCBs, pesticides, sample recruitment, volatile organic chemicals, RFA, Health, Scientific Discipline, Air, Toxics, air toxics, Environmental Chemistry, pesticides, Epidemiology, Chemistry, VOCs, Risk Assessments, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Children's Health, indoor air, genetic susceptability, school based study, pesticide exposure, cumulative risk, sensitive populations, multiple acute exposures, exposure and effects, adolescents, multiple acute exposure, indoor exposure, health risks, measuring childhood exposure, exposure, chemical mixtures, Human Health Risk Assessment, air pollution, children, PAH, assessment of exposure, human exposure, minorities, cigarette smoke, environmental toxicant, environmental stressors, exposure pathways, harmful environmental agents, toxic environmental contaminants, indoor air quality, tobacco smoke, acute exposure, heavy metals, school-based study, environmental hazard exposures, metalsProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe 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.