Grantee Research Project Results

2001 Progress Report: Improving Human Health Risk Assessment for Tetrachloroethene by Using Biomarkers and Neurobehavioral Testing in Diverse Residential Populations

EPA Grant Number: R827446
Title: Improving Human Health Risk Assessment for Tetrachloroethene by Using Biomarkers and Neurobehavioral Testing in Diverse Residential Populations
Investigators: Storm, Jan , Aldous, Kenneth , Gensburg, Lenore , Lin, Shao
Current Investigators: Storm, Jan , Aldous, Kenneth
Institution: The State University of New York
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2002 (Extended to September 30, 2004)
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2001
Project Amount: $610,790
RFA: Children's Vulnerability to Toxic Substances in the Environment (1999) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Children's Health , Human Health

Objective:

The U.S. EPA considers tetrachloroethene (perc) a problematic pollutant in urban areas. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) documented high levels of perc in indoor air of apartments located in buildings with dry cleaning facilities in New York State; others have reported such levels both nation- and world-wide. Inadvertent residential exposures to perc provide a unique opportunity to evaluate possible adverse effects associated with perc, and to assess whether children are more likely to experience adverse effects from perc exposure than adults.

The objectives of this project are to: (1) assess residential perc exposure by measuring residential perc air levels and biomarkers of exposure in exhaled breath and blood of residents of buildings with and without dry cleaners; (2) characterize the relationships between residential perc air levels and biomarkers of exposure; (3) assess nervous system function in perc-exposed and nonperc-exposed residents; and (4) evaluate exposure/dose-response relationships between environmental and/or biological measures of exposure and nervous system function. Exposed study participants will, optimally, include 60 parent-child pairs residing in buildings with an operating, perc-using dry cleaner; nonexposed (control) study participants will include 60 parent-child pairs residing in buildings without an operating dry cleaner or any other identifiable source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study is consisent with a recommendation by the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee to U.S. EPA Administrator Carol Browner that the National Emission Standard governing emissions of perc be reevaluated to determine if it is protective of children's health.

Progress Summary:

During this reporting period, this project was given the name NYCity Perc Project and a toll-free NYCity Perc Project telephone "hotline" was set up (1-888-955-5090). Potential participants and members of the public are encouraged to call this number to talk to study staff. Miscellaneous materials (cover letters, fact sheets, flyers, response cards, etc.) describing and referring to the NYCity Perc Project were developed, and recruitment of study participants began. By September 30, 2001, 101 exposed (residential buildings with a perc-using dry cleaner) and 244 nonexposed (residential buildings in the same neighborhood as exposed but without dry cleaners or other potential sources of VOCs buildings were identified in Zip Codes 10029, 10025, 10128, 10028, and 10021 of Manhattan. Recruitment of study participants (parent-child pairs living in the same residence) began in Zip Codes 10025 and 10128. Eighteen parent-child pairs living in these areas have enrolled in the study (11 living in dry cleaner buildings; 7 living in control buildings). This represents about 15 percent of the sample size of 120 parent-child pairs deemed optimal for testing study hypotheses.

Study protocol calls for perc and other VOC (1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, dimethylfuran, ethylbenzene, xylene, methylene chloride, styrene, t-butyl methyl ether, toluene, trichlorothene) levels to be measured in participants' homes. Passive samplers to collect these data have been obtained and are ready for deployment.

Study participants are asked to provide exhaled breath samples at home and at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. These samples will be analyzed for perc to provide individual measures of perc exposure. Eighteen stainless steel tubes for the collection of exhaled breath samples were manufactured during this reporting period, bringing the total number of tubes available to 38. Study participants also are asked to provide blood samples at Mt. Sinai to be analyzed for perc, the VOCs listed above, lead, and mercury. A cooperative agreement was implemented during this reporting period to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to analyze blood samples for these analytes.

Study participants are asked to take visual function tests (e.g., acuity, visual contrast sensitivity, color vision) and a neurological screen (using the Neurological Evaluation System 2 [NES-2]) at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center. During this reporting period, subcontracts with the Mt. Sinai Medical Center (Department of Ophthalmology) and the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany, Department of Psychology) to conduct visual function testing and neurological screening, respectively, were negotiated and implemented. These contracts provide support for individuals located at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center to perform testing, collect biological samples, and maintain records, and for individuals affiliated with SUNY Albany to design, oversee, and interpret the NES-2.

Also, during this reporting period, a project staff coordinator located at the NYSDOH in Troy, NY, was hired, and Institutional Review Board approvals were obtained at NYS DOH, SUNY Albany, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, and CDC.

Future Activities:

During the next reporting period, identification of exposed and nonexposed buildings will be completed in Zip Code areas 10022, 10019, 10023, 10024, and 10026. Recruitment will be completed in all 10 targeted Zip Code areas, and an additional 100 parent-child pairs will, hopefully, be recruited and enrolled. A contract will be negotiated with the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership (NMPP) to support recruitment in the mostly Hispanic neighborhood of East/Spanish Harlem (Zip Code 10029). The NMPP employs bilingual community health workers and has experience and expertise interacting with the East Harlem community, which current project staff lack.

It is anticipated that collection of all experimental data will be completed, and that preliminary statistical analyses of the data collected will be conducted.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 6 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

tetrachloroethene, exposure, health effects, sensitive populations, solvents, indoor air, children, vulnerability, epidemiology, visual contrast sensitivity, color vision, NES-2, New York City, dry cleaners., Health, RFA, Scientific Discipline, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, Geographic Area, Toxics, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Health Risk Assessment, Physical Processes, Risk Assessments, State, genetic susceptability, 33/50, Molecular Biology/Genetics, Children's Health, Human Health Risk Assessment, multilinear regressional model, environmental hazard exposures, sensitive populations, biological markers, neurodevelopmental toxicity, Tetrachloroethylene, human exposure, childhood cancer, New York (NY), neurobehavioral effects, residential populations, children, exposure, children's vulnerablity, dose response model, indoor air, air pollution, assessment of exposure, human health risk, inhalation

Relevant Websites:

Full Final Technical Report (PDF, pp139, 1.3MB)

http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/environ/btsa.htm/fs_perc.htm

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2000 Progress Report

2002 Progress Report

2003 Progress Report

Final Report