Grantee Research Project Results
2004 Progress Report: Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska
EPA Grant Number: R831043Title: Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska
Investigators: Miller, Pamela K. , Carpenter, David O. , DeCaprio, Anthony P. , Arnason, John , Eckstein, Lorraine
Current Investigators: Miller, Pamela K. , Carpenter, David O. , Welfinger-Smith, Gretchen , Eckstein, Lorraine , Waghiyi, Viola
Institution: Alaska Community Action on Toxics , The State University of New York
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: December 1, 2003 through November 30, 2006
Project Period Covered by this Report: December 1, 2003 through November 30, 2004
Project Amount: $449,510
RFA: Lifestyle and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and Risks from Toxic Substances in the Environment (2002) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice , Tribal Environmental Health Research , Human Health , Safer Chemicals , Climate Change
Objective:
The Siberian Yu’pik people of Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska, follow a traditional lifestyle where their diet contains large amounts of whale, seal, walrus, fish, greens, and berries. The effects of environmental contamination on the health of the community has become an issue of great concern, focused especially on the perception that the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases has increased significantly in recent years. The sources of contamination are three-fold: (1) two abandoned military bases on the island (Saint Lawrence Island, in the northern Bering Sea is located only 40 miles from the Chukotkan Peninsula of Russia and was a major strategic military site from World War II and through the Cold War); (2) atmospheric transport of persistent contaminants from temperate regions that bioconcentrate in the traditional foods that constitute the major part of the diet of the Yu’pik people; and (3) natural metals from rock and soil. Through research conducted with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, we have shown that the Yu’pik people of Saint Lawrence Island have relatively high serum levels of PCBs and certain pesticides.
This project examines the traditional foods of the Yu’pik people for PCBs, three pesticides, and heavy metals to determine which are the most significant sources of exposure and how preparation for consumption influences the level of contaminants. The primary objective of this research project is to systematically explore the contaminant levels in the range of traditional foods eaten regularly by the Yu’pik people to determine: (1) levels of contaminants in the major food sources of the Yu’pik people; (2) how preparation of the foods for consumption influences contaminant levels; (3) determine amounts of traditional foods eaten in this community through dietary surveys and analyze exposures through various food sources. This information is critical to the community as members attempt to maintain a traditional lifestyle but do so while minimizing their exposure to environmental contaminants that cause disease. While there have been a number of studies of contaminant levels in traditional foods in the Eastern Canadian Arctic, there have been relatively few such studies in Alaska. Therefore, a systematic investigation of contaminant levels in traditional foods is important as it will enhance scientific understanding and the ability of the Yu’pik people to make informed decisions to minimize exposures.
Progress Summary:
During Year 1 of the project, the research team established sampling and analytical protocols and provided training to field researchers on Saint Lawrence Island. Researchers began sample collection of foods following the harvest and preparation for consumption of plants, fish, and marine mammals in the villages of Gambell and Savoonga. The State University of New York at Albany began analysis of samples for 101 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, and other pesticides, as well as mercury, chromium, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, and lead.
Future Activities:
The research team will collect and analyze 180 food samples per year representing the range of traditional foods consumed by the Yu’pik people, including bearded seal, ringed seal, spotted seal, Pacific walrus, bowhead whale, murre eggs, salmon, halibut, reindeer, and polar bear. Samples from freshly harvested and prepared plants and animals will include greens, berries, meat, subcutaneous and abdominal fat, heart, kidney, and liver. We will conduct literature reviews to design and implement dietary surveys.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 12 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
traditional foods, subsistence food patterns, Alaska Natives, Yu’pik people, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, health risk assessment, dietary exposures, exposure pathways, contaminants, environmental exposures, PCBs, pesticides, DDE, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, mercury, cadmium, lead, arsenic, marine mammals (ringed seal, spotted seal, bearded seal), bowhead whale, Pacific walrus, murre, polar bear, salmon,, Health, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, HUMAN HEALTH, Ecological Risk Assessment, Health Risk Assessment, Risk Assessments, State, Exposure, dietary exposure, lead, pesticides, Siberian Yu'piks, human exposure, cadmium, Alaska (AK), PCB, biomarker based exposure inference, human health risk, metals, mercuryRelevant Websites:
Progress 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.