Grantee Research Project Results
2003 Progress Report: Improving Human Health Risk Assessment for Tetrachloroethene by Using Biomarkers and Neurobehavioral Testing in Diverse Residential Populations
EPA Grant Number: R827446Title: Improving Human Health Risk Assessment for Tetrachloroethene by Using Biomarkers and Neurobehavioral Testing in Diverse Residential Populations
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, 2002 through September 30, 2003
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. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers tetrachloroethene (PERC) to be a problematic pollutant in urban areas. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and others have documented high levels of PERC in indoor air of apartments in buildings with dry cleaners. Inadvertent residential exposures to PERC provide a unique opportunity to evaluate possible adverse effects associated with PERC; and, to assess whether children are more vulnerable to PERC exposure than adults.
The objectives of this research project are to: (1) assess PERC exposure among residents of buildings with and without dry cleaners using environmental (indoor air) and biological (exhaled breath, blood) measures of exposure; (2) characterize the relationships between environmental and biological measures of PERC exposure; (3) assess visual function in PERC-exposed and non-PERC-exposed residents; and (4) evaluate exposure-response relationships between environmental and/or biological measures of exposure and visual function. Adult-child pairs residing in the same household in buildings with a dry cleaner using PERC onsite and adult-child pairs residing in the same household in buildings without a dry cleaner or other potential source of volatile organic compounds comprise the study population. This study is consistent 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, all recruitment was completed and greater than 100 percent of study enrollment goals were met. One hundred twenty-six households—65 in dry cleaner buildings (exposed); 61 in control buildings (non-exposed)—were enrolled, which include 68 exposed parent-child pairs and 71 non-exposed parent-child pairs (some households included more than one parent-child pair). All phases of participation were completed for all enrolled parent-child pairs.
Analyses of indoor air PERC levels indicate:
• Mean air PERC level in apartments (n = 65) in dry cleaner buildings (n = 24) was 10 times lower in 2001-2003 (34 µg/m3) than in 1994-1997 (340 µg/m3).
• In dry cleaner buildings, 26 percent of sampled apartments (17 of 65) exceeded the NYSDOH residential air guideline of 100 µg/m3 PERC; 6 percent of sampled apartments (4 of 65) exceeded 1,000 µg/m3 PERC.
• Fifty percent of dry cleaner buildings (12 of 24) had at least one apartment where PERC was less than 100 µg/m3; 17 percent of dry cleaner buildings (4 of 24) had at least one apartment where PERC exceeded 1,000 µg/m3.
• Mean air PERC level in dry cleaner buildings was significantly higher in minority, especially Hispanic, low-income neighborhoods than in non-minority, non-low-income neighborhoods. (Mean indoor air PERC level in minority neighborhoods was 72 µg/m3 compared to 18 µg/m3 in non-minority neighborhoods. Mean indoor air PERC level in low-income neighborhoods was 230 µg/m3 compared to 23 µg/m3 in non-low-income neighborhoods.)
Preliminary analyses of interrelationships among measures of PERC exposure indicate that:
• For children and adults, PERC in venous blood and exhaled breath correlate well with indoor air levels; correlation between blood and indoor air is greatest.
• Ratios of adult blood and exhaled breath levels to same-household child blood or exhaled breath levels are 1.4-1.5, suggesting that adults have higher internal exposures to PERC than children residing in the same household.
Preliminary analyses of relationships between measures of PERC exposure (PERC in indoor air, exhaled breath, and blood) and visual function (contrast sensitivity and color vision) indicate that:
• Residence in a dry cleaner building is not associated with effects on visual function for adults or children.
• PERC exposure (reflected by indoor air levels, exhaled breath levels, or blood levels) of dry cleaner building residents is not significantly correlated with performance on visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) or color vision tests for adults or children.
Analyses of performance on VCS and color vision tests stratified by age and race/ethnicity indicate that:
• Adults and children residing in buildings with or without dry cleaners performed close to the upper 95 percent confidence limit of published norms for VCS.
• Children residing in buildings with or without dry cleaners performed statistically significantly better than adults on the VCS test.
• Children generally performed worse on color vision tests than adults.
• Race/ethnicity (African-American and/or Hispanic; White) is statistically significantly correlated with performance on color vision tests, but not with performance on the VCS test.
Analyses of neurobehavioral performance of 13 children who attended a day care center (the Pumpkin Patch Day Care Center in Guilderland, NY) where 1,800 to 2,400 µg/m3 PERC was detected and of 13 age-, gender-, and day care center attendance-matched comparison children, showed no effect of PERC exposure. Each child who participated in this study completed a battery of standard neuropsychological measures and selected subtests from the Neurobehavioral Evaluation System-2. Parent(s) completed the Child Behavioral Checklist, a parent rating scale of the child's behavioral and emotional functioning, as well as a background history questionnaire.
Future Activities:
We will complete all analyses by March 30, 2004, and prepare papers for publication of the study results.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 6 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
tetrachloroethene, PERC, exposure, health effects, sensitive populations, solvents, indoor air, children, vulnerability, epidemiology, visual contrast sensitivity, VCS, color vision, NES-2, New York City, NY, dry cleaners, chlorinated compounds, carcinogen, genetic susceptibility, air pollution, assessment of exposure, biological markers, biomarkers, childhood cancer, children's vulnerability, dose-response model, environmental hazard exposures, human exposure, inhalation, multilinear regression model, neurobehavioral effects, neurodevelopmental toxicity, residential populations., 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, inhalationRelevant Websites:
Full Final Technical Report (PDF, pp139, 1.3MB)
http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/environ/btsa.htm/fs_PERC.htm Exit
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.