Grantee Research Project Results
2012 Progress Report: New Mexico Center for Advancement of Research, Engagement, & Science on Health Disparities (NM CARES HD) - Environmental Health Core
EPA Grant Number: NIMHD009Title: New Mexico Center for Advancement of Research, Engagement, & Science on Health Disparities (NM CARES HD) - Environmental Health Core
Investigators: Williams, Robert L , Gonzales, Melissa , Lewis, Johnnye Lynn , Scott, Amy Anixter , Page-Reeves, Janet , Moffett, Mark , Apodaca, Veronica D , Hudson, Laurie , Liu, Jim
Institution: University of New Mexico
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: August 1, 2011 through July 31, 2014
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2011 through September 30,2012
Project Amount: $528,500
RFA: Transdisciplinary Networks of Excellence on the Environment and Health Disparities (2012) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice , Human Health
Objective:
The objective of the Environmental Health Core (EHC) is to establish a research focus in the science of intervention on environmental health (EH) disparities based at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center. This effort will be based on sound research practices, informed by community needs, and will focus on filling information gaps to inform policy and clinical care. The EHC will initiate a vigorous, self-sustaining, research core that advances the scientific base of knowledge about interventions and solutions to socioeconomic, natural, chemical, and built environment issues contributing to the health disparities faced by Native Americans and Hispanic communities in New Mexico, and to actively work to ensure these results are used to inform policy, clinical, social and behavioral interventions to reduce disparities.
Progress Summary:
- Collaborated with Community Engagement Core to identify environmental health disparities concerns of communities in four regions of New Mexico.
- Developed a partnership with Environmental Sciences program at Northern New Mexico College in Espanola, NM. Northern is a Hispanic- and Native-American serving college in a predominantly rural area located in close proximity to Los Alamos National Laboratory and numerous Native American Pueblos. Issues of water quality and health equity are a concern. Camilla Bustamante, PhD, MPH, director of the Environmental Sciences Program is trained in Health Education and has the support of the college President to develop new grant initiatives in the area of environmental health equity and effective exposure interventions for the region.
- Input for research collaboration and technical support for Colonia Water Quality programs in southern New Mexico has been requested of the EHC through the Community Engagement Core. Interventions will be developed in collaboration with the Border Epidemiology & Environmental Health Center (BEC) director Dr. Hugo Vilchis.
- Air pollution and respiratory health in southeastern NM and the Four-Corners Region resulting from coal-fired power generating facilities and natural gas production. Goal: Collaborating with concerned community members/partners (American Lung Association, NM DOH, UNM Pulmonary) to develop a PM and PAH respiratory health population study with emphasis on exposure assessment and policy.
- Identified an information gap and contributed a field-tested protocol for metals detected in in-home dust samples for Dine project (collaboration with Project 2).
- Incorporated disparities issues in exposure analysis, policy and clinical care into: General Preventive Medicine and Public Health: Environmental Health Seminar (BIOM 505/CRN 45625) Spring 2012. Instructor: Melissa Gonzales.
- Supported the attendance of community member Ranalda Tsosie (Project 2) from the EHC Projects (Aim 2) at a week-long course in Community Based Participatory Research offered in May 2012 by the UNM Masters in Public Health Program.
- Supported travel for two UPN undergraduate students to attend training sessions at clinical sites and Navajo IRB for Project 2.
- American Indian Arts and Crafts Association (AIACA) requested a presentation of environmental health information to association members. AIACA Trade Show. Albuquerque, NM. May 2012. (Melissa Gonzales)
- Latino Cancer Summit, Environmental Health Panel. “Air Toxics” (Gonzales) San Francisco CA, July 2012.
- Partnered with the Research Education Core to work with two undergraduates through the UNM Undergraduate Pipeline Network (see Project 2 and Aim 3 for details).
- Submitted two NIH intervention grants to reduce lower respiratory tract infections resulting from wood smoke exposures in collaboration with University of Montana and the University of Alaska. These involve three tribal community and one rural community – rural Montana, Nez Perce, Navajo, Alaska Native Yupik communities.
- Partnering with Navajo Nation EPA to develop – for the first time – maps of in-home radon levels across the reservation. This is an add-on to the Navajo Birth Cohort study in collaboration with the Navajo Nation EPA Air and Toxics Program.
- Johnnye Lewis has been invited by Rep. James Clyburn to participate with the Congressional Black Caucus in developing an environmental justice agenda for the next US Congress. This will specifically address the impact of disparities in community infrastructure on health.
- Human Research Protection Office (HRRC 11-489) Full IRB approval obtained and amendments approved for updated community household food survey, 2nd set of iterative ethnographic interviews, and Fiestas events interviews (in English and Spanish translation).
- 1st (16 community interviews) and 2nd set (20 community interviews) of ethnographic interviews completed.
- Household community food survey administered to 50 households.
Fiestas Aim 2: To develop strong interconnected social relationships in Santa Barbara/Martineztown that will improve access to food, information about food/food environment, and support for families challenged by food insecurity and hunger
Achievements this Period
- The capacity to train students in community-engaged research has been accomplished with the implementation of a new undergraduate/graduate level course, “Seminars in Community Food Environment, University of New Mexico”, Economics #395. This class meets with Community members to learn about the community and discuss research process with community
- Partnering with the community has been achieved through meetings, trainings, and events:
- Attendance at Santa Barbara /Martineztown community public zoning plan meeting
- Community Engagement Center meetings
- Fiesta #1 Event with Community Board women
- Community Board meetings with local content experts for trainings in health disparities, social determinants of health, community health indicators, research methods, food and social services resources, and presentation skills
- Community Neighborhood Association meetings to inform community members
Fiestas Aim 3: To create and disseminate Fiestas Project and Health-disparities related products
Achievements this Period
- NM Cares HD/NM Public Health Association presentation: Panel: “The Social and Cultural Dimensions Food and Food Insecurity in an Urban Hispanic Community”
- NM Cares HD /NM Public Health Association presentation: Panel: “Diabetes Prevention in a Hispanic Community. Presentation: “Culturally-Situating Diabetes Prevention in an Immigrant Community in Albuquerque, New Mexico: The Importance of Culture”
- KUNM Radio presentation on Fiestas (Veronica Apodaca, Fiestas Community Coordinator, and Amy Scott)
- Grant submitted to the Post-Ph.D. Scholars Research Program @ the Wenner-Gren Foundation for project entitled, “Recipes for Empowerment: Critical Health Literacy and Immigrant Hispanic Women’s Collective Action to Prevent Diabetes.” (Janet Page-Reeves, PI)
- Collaborative project concept paper submitted by the Breast Cancer Resource Center to the Ford Foundation Initiative on Advancing Social and Economic Rights for a project entitled, “Creating Equity in the Nexus of Food, Place and Cancer for Women in Albuquerque.” (Janet Page-Reeves & Amy Scott)
- Grant submitted to (R21) Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities (NIH) for project entitled “Apapacho Con Carino: Using Community Input to Leverage Cultural Assets and Mobilize University Infrastructure in a Hispanic, Immigrant Community in New Mexico to Prevent Diabetes and Reduce Health Disparities.” (Janet Page-Reeves & Shiraz Mishra, Co-PIs)
- Panel organized & submitted & accepted: American Anthropological Association for annual conference in November. (Janet Page-Reeves, Organizer/ presenter) Panel Organizer for panel on food security: “Off the Edge of the Table: Food Security, Food Justice and the Limits of the Current Food System.” Presentation: “It is always that sense of wanting…never really being satisfied”: How Sharing “Platos”, Meal-Stretching, and Women’s Social Wealth Re-contour the Experience of Food Insecurity in an Urban Food Desert Community” (Meeting in November, 2012)
- Grant submission to NSF REESE program for a project entitled, “Understanding the Role of Culture, Identity, Epistemology and Bi-Cultural Efficacy in American Indian Educational and Professional Success in STEM.” (Janet Page-Reeves, Douglas Medin & Pamela Silas, Co-PI’s—collaborative application with UNM, Northwestern University in Illinois and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)).
- Article accepted: Janet Page-Reeves (2012), “A Commentary on the Nexus of Poverty, Hunger and Homelessness in New Mexico.” Volume 37, In Press, Social Justice Journal
Aim 2 Project 2: Zinc and Uranium Progress
The radiologic carcinogenicity of uranium (U) is established, but U may also act as a metal through zinc finger proteins (ZnFP). Several studies report that U leads to DNA repair deficiency in exposed populations, suggesting that U may interact with ZnFP that control DNA repair. Although these experiments are suggestive, they did not investigate the impact of U on a relevant target protein.
- Our work with arsenic has demonstrated that very low levels of arsenic exposure at or near the drinking water standard of 10 ppb leads to Zn depletion from target proteins in cells and this concentration is nearly two orders of magnitude less than that necessary to interfere with purified protein. If, as suggested, U disrupts ZnFP function in a similar manner, Zn supplementation would offset U toxicity by this mechanism, leading to a sound basis for an over-the-counter, readily implemented Zn intervention to protect against toxicity. Increased Zn has been shown to increase DNA repair at levels associated with dietary supplementation in humans.
- First, we established that pre-incubation of cells with uranyl acetate (U) before a DNA damaging exposure of ultraviolet radiation (UV) caused retention of UV-induced DNA damage at 6h, similar to what is observed with arsenic (Fig. 1). This finding strongly suggests that U inhibits DNA repair processes. A key ZnFP in DNA repair is poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)-1.
Figure 1. Uranyl acetate inhibits DNA repair.
HEK cells were treated with 2 µm arsenite
or 10 µm uranyl acetate for 24h before exposure
to 3 kl solar simulated UVR to stimulate DNA
damage. UV-induced DNA damage was measured
at 1h and 6h post exposure using immune-
historchemical approaches. Retention of DNA
damage at 6h post-exposure by arsenic and
uranyl acetate is illustrated by the bracket.
The activity of PARP-1 is strongly dependent on the coordination of zinc in the zinc finger domain. We established previously that treatment of cells with arsenic caused loss of zinc from PARP-1. As shown in Fig. 2, incubation of HEK cells with U for 24h leads to loss of zinc from PARP-1 immunoprecipitated from U treated cells. A significant decrease in zinc content was evident at 1 uM U exposure. Although our preliminary studies using mass spectrometry have not established whether U interacts directly with a PARP-1 zinc finger peptide, this finding indicates that cell exposure to U can disrupt zinc binding to the PARP-1 zinc finger domains. Ongoing studies will investigate the mechanism responsible for this observation.
Figure 2. Uranyl acetate causes zinc depletion in the
DNA repair protein PARP-1. HEK cells were treated
with the indicated concentrations of U for 24h, then
PARP-1 was immune-precipitated frm cell lysates.
The isolated protein was treated with hydrogen
peroxide to release bound zinc and zinc content
was measured using a zinc sensor.
Loss of zinc from the zinc finger domain is predicted to inhibit PARP-1 activity as we have reported previously for arsenic. Pre-treatment of cells with either arsenic or U led to a decrease in UV-stimulated PARP activity as detected by a decrease in PARP enzyme product poly (ADP-ribose) (Fig. 3.). Collectively, the experiments illustrated in Figures 1-3 represent the first evidence that U can inhibit PARP-1 activity and DNA repair, at least in part through a mechanism involving disruption of zinc finger function.
Figure 3. Uranyl acetate inhibits PARP-1 activity. HEK cells
were treated wiht arsenic (1 µm) or U (10 µm) for 24h, then
PARP-1 was immuno-precipitated from cell lysates. Cells were
then exposed to UV to activate PARP. PARP activity is
detected using antibodies directed against its product
poly (ADP-ribose). Note the decrease in fluorescent intensity
in the arsenic and uranium pre-treated samples.
Our studies on arsenic have demonstrated that zinc can reverse the effects of arsenic on PARP-1 activity and DNA damage in human cells and in mouse models. We tested whether U-dependent inhibition of DNA repair, as detected by enhancement of UV-induced DNA damage, could be reversed by co-incubation of U and zinc.
The results in Fig. 4 illustrate that preincubation of cells with U augments UV-induced DNA damage using an independent marker of DNA damage to confirm the results obtained in Fig. 1. This is shown by the U-dependent increase (red bars) above the no-metal control (blue bars) at the 1h and 6h time points post-UV exposure. The DNA damage is resolved at 6h in the no-metal control cells and the continued elevation of DNA damage in the U treated cells indicates inhibition of DNA repair. However, when cells were co-treated with U and zinc, the augmentation of DNA damage is eliminated and DNA repair occurs (Fig. 4, compare green bars with red bars). These findings suggest that zinc adequacy can offset the deleterious effects of U on DNA damage repair and provide the scientific support for the natural history intervention proposed with the Navajo Birth Cohort Study.
Figure 4. Zinc offsets the effects of U in DNA repair. HEK
cells were treated with 10 µm U with or without 2 µm zinc
for 24h before exposure to 3 kl solar simulated UVR to
stimulate DNA damage. UV-induced DNA damage was
measured at 1h and 6h post exposure using
immunohistochemical appraches. The red bars illustrate
augmentation of DNA damage by U over the no-metal control
(blue bars). The green bars represent cell response when
U and Zn are both present.
Zinc Aim 2: Population Studies.
- The NBCS has moved forward with training of clinical and laboratory staff at the participating IHS hospitals, and due to the readiness in the laboratories, we will be able to work at not one, but three hospitals to identify women for this NMCARES pilot project. We therefore believe the lost time will be made up by the increased catchment area.
- The IRB approvals are in place to look at these responses across all three facilities, and the laboratory protocols for sample collection to confirm not only U but also Zn and As exposure through biomonitoring in urine (U, As) and serum (Zn) are complete, with training of laboratory staff in each hospital either complete or in progress.
- We have done pilot walk-throughs at one study facility, and are scheduling the second and third this week in anticipation of the initiation of enrollment.
- The capacity to analyze population samples has also been increased through incorporation of two additional students, a predoctoral student from Dr. Lewis’s program, as well as a Navajo undergraduate biochemistry student who worked on the project with Dr. Lewis this summer and will continue doing independent research projects through the next two terms as described below. Both of these students are interested in the translational aspects of bench science to communities and will be assisting in Dr. Hudson’s laboratory to ensure the population sample analysis moves forward, as well as participating in the broader aspects of the community studies.
Aim 3: Mentoring minority trainees to develop and expand EH disparities research. In all core activities, as well as in research projects associated with the core, we will mentor and involve community EH scholars, and trainees representing our partner communities
Achievements this Period
- Ms. Ranalda Tsosie is a UNM undergraduate pursuing a degree in chemistry with a desire to use studies of chemical mechanisms to improve the health of her community. She has been working in Dr. Hudson’s lab on Zn reversal of As and U toxicity and through this project is developing an understanding of how laboratory work can inform community health and reduce disparities. She presented her work at four different local and national venues this past year.
- Two undergraduate students worked with the Core Directors this summer through a NM CARES-sponsored Undergraduate Pipeline Network (UPN) fellowship. Ms. Jacquelline Cuellar is a Mexican-American biology student interested in pursuing a PhD in epidemiology. Mr. Charlton Lindsay is a Navajo biochemistry student interested in pursuing an M.D., and integrating his strength in biochemistry with population health. Both students had the opportunity to travel with the Project 2 (Zinc) and Core teams to experience first-hand the challenges of integrating community research into clinical practice. Within Dr. Gonzales’ program, Ms. Cuellar worked independently to translate, verify and field test survey instruments and consent forms from English to Spanish. She collaborated on IRB submissions and revisions to the study. This opportunity highlighted for her that translations of survey instruments, in addition to being congruent with English, also need to be understandable to the range of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics represented in the target study population. Within Dr. Lewis’ program, Mr. Lindsay worked independently to derive health-based, defensible and readily communicated screening values for metals detected in in-home dust samples, which is a component of Project 2. He received a third-place award at the final UPN poster session for his work on the basis of faculty review. Travel to training session also gave Mr. Lindsay the opportunity to identify the need for screening values based on clinician and community input. In the coming year, Mr. Lindsay will continue to work with the team through assisting in the analysis of the population samples in the laboratory to help in evaluating the translation of the in-vitro data to the human population samples.
- Mentorship of junior faculty in Environmental Health Disparities: Karen Cooper, PhD (Pharmacy) through Project 2; Ludmilla Bakarevah PhD (pharmacy) R15 proposal for alcohol metabolites as co-exposures in the Navajo birth Cohort; Esther Erdei MD, PhD (Epidemiology) NARCH pilot project for immunosuppression and metals exposure; Camilla Bustamante PhD, MPH (Environmental Sciences) through Aim 1; Salina Torres, PhD, MPH (Environmental Epidemiology) Colorectal Cancer and Environmental Exposures, through Aim 1; Dora Guzman, PhD. ASSERT Post-doctoral fellow in Community Health (transitioning from biophysics into population health and health disparities). Fiestas (Project 1)
- Hired (as providers) and mentored 3 Community Board members – Carol Carrillo (Community Healthcare and home care provider), Jeannie Romero (Community Child Day Care provider) and Brenda Garcia (UNM undergraduate/pre-nursing student). The Community Board has received training in health disparities, social determinants of health, resource topics and community research methods. They have participated and presented at the Fiestas event #1.
- Hired (as staff) a Community Outreach Coordinator- Veronica Apodaca. As Coordinator, Ms. Apodaca has coordinated community research input, the community board, and events. She has been mentored in community-engaged research.
- Mentored Graduate Research Assistant from the community- Vanessa Apodaca (graduate student in health education). With Drs. Moffett and Page-Reeves, Ms. Apodaca helped develop the evaluation tools, co-facilitated the Seminars in Food Environment Class, administered the community household survey, and is co-authoring one of the research papers.
- Seminar in Community Food Environment Class (Econ 395) Spring 2012 semester. Instructor: Mark Moffett, co-Instructor: Vanessa Apodaca, GRA. UNM Class for undergraduate and graduate students (included interdisciplinary and predominantly minority students, including 3 students from the Santa Barbara/Martineztown Community) for mentoring/training in community research methods. Class article (Vanessa Apodaca, lead author) in progress. Household community food security survey administered by students. Food Resource guide for SB/MT community – (created by students) disseminated to households and community members participating in the project.
Future Activities:
- Johnnye Lewis will be a plenary speaker, and Laurie Hudson and Melissa Gonzales will present posters at the 7th Conference on Metal Toxicity and Carcinogenesis (October 21-24, 2012 in Albuquerque, NM). The interdisciplinary international conference will focus on: mechanisms of metal-induced toxicity, strategies for intervention and prevention, and possible translation from basic studies into clinical or public policy.
- In collaboration with the Community Engagement Core, the EH Core will train interested community members to access to online ArcGIS data maps related to health outcomes, risks, and social determinants in various regions of NM available through the NM Community Data Collaborative.
- Navajo Birth Cohort (parent study for Project 2) will expand to include more Indian Health Service recruitment locations.In Collaboration with the Community Engagement, Research and Research Education Cores of NM CARES HD, the EH Core will be assisting New Mexico community’s with environmental health disparities related research proposals.
- Fiestas (Project 1) Upcoming milestones include completion of the third series of ethnographic community interviews, social network mapping of the of the Santa Barbara-Martineztown community, Fiestas Community Board trainings, Fiestas 1 participants and community interviewees (9/25/12), and Neighborhood Association (12/16/12) to share research information/data and obtain feedback; complete Fiestas #2 by 11/10/12. We will continue to mentor community board members, undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Page-Reeves will present the Fiestas project and project paper at a national meeting panel addressing food insecurity and hunger which she has organized and will facilitate at the American Anthropological Association national meeting in San Francisco, November 2012. We are currently writing several project-related papers to submit to peer-reviewed journals. We are currently in discussion with state partners who are interested in replicating and expanding the Fiestas project to other communities.
- We will continue investigations on the mechanisms by which uranium interferes with PARP-1 function leading to decreased DNA repair and submit a manuscript for peer review. Once recruitment into the Birth Cohort begins we will conduct the studies outlined in the proposal. Due to the late start of recruitment as a result of delays in OMB review, we will expand recruitment for this disparities research project from one to three service units. The additional service units also have regions of exposure profiles similar to the original Shiprock service unit. Therefore, we anticipate being able to meet the target numbers we originally predicted. Analysis of zinc in serum will now be accomplished at a recently developed ICP-MS facility at UNM, also facilitating completion of the proposed goals by offering more control of the process. Pilot runs of test samples have begun and will complete by the start of enrollment to ensure the quality and consistency of the analyses. Dr. Hudson will continue the mentorship of Ms. Ranalda Tsosie and guide her through the graduate school application process. Mr. Charlton Lindsay will pursue his honors research co-mentored by Drs. Hudson and Lewis. Mr. Lindsay will supplement his summer experience with direct laboratory experimentation on the mechanisms of uranium disruption of DNA repair.
Journal Articles on this Report : 7 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 50 publications | 16 publications in selected types | All 11 journal articles |
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Gonzales M, Myers O, Smith L, Olvera HA, Mukerjee S, Li WW, Pingitore N, Amaya M, Burchiel S, Berwick M, ARCH Study Team. Evaluation of land use regression models for NO2 in El Paso, Texas, USA. Science of the Total Environment 2012; 432:135-142. |
NIMHD009 (2012) |
Exit Exit Exit |
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Gonzales M, Nelson H, Rhyne RL, Stone SN, Hoffman RM. Surveillance of colorectal cancer screening in New Mexico Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Journal of Community Health 2012;37(6):1279-1288. |
NIMHD009 (2012) |
Exit |
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Haile RW, John EM, Levine AJ, Cortessis VK, Unger JB, Gonzales M, Ziv E, Thompson P, Spruijt-Metz D, Tucker KL, Bernstein JL, Rohan TE, Ho GY, Bondy ML, Martinez ME, Cook L, Stern MC, Correa MC, Wright J, Schwartz SJ, Baezconde-Garbanati L, Blinder V, Miranda P, Hayes R, Friedman-Jimenez G, Monroe KR, Haiman CA, Henderson BE, Thomas DC, Boffetta P. A review of cancer in U.S. Hispanic populations. Cancer Prevention Research 2012; 5(2):150-163. |
NIMHD009 (2012) |
Exit Exit Exit |
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Page-Reeves J. A commentary on the nexus of poverty, hunger, and homelessness in New Mexico. Social Justice 2011-2012;38(3):33-41. |
NIMHD009 (2012) |
Exit |
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Page-Reeves J, Niforatos J, Mishra S, Regino L, Gingrich A, Bulten R. Health disparity and structural violence: how fear undermines health among immigrants at risk for diabetes. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice 2013;6(2):30-47. |
NIMHD009 (2012) NIMHD009 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
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Svendsen ER, Gonzales M, Mukerjee S, Smith L, Ross M, Walsh D, Rhoney S, Andrews G, Ozkaynak H, Neas LM. GIS-modeled indicators of traffic-related air pollutants and adverse pulmonary effects among children in El Paso, Texas. American Journal of Epidemiology 2012;176(Suppl 7):S131-S141. |
NIMHD009 (2012) |
Exit Exit Exit |
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Page-Reeves, Janet, Shiraz Mishra, Joshua Niforatos, Lidia Regino, Robert Bulten & Andrew Gingrich (n.d. IN REVIEW) “Co-Creating a Culturally Situated Diabetes Prevention Initiative in a Hispanic, Immigrant Community in Albuquerque, New Mexico.” Qualitative Health Research. |
NIMHD009 (2012) |
not available |
Supplemental Keywords:
drinking water, exposure, health effects, food security, heavy metals, sustainable development, public policy, decision making, community-based, survey, socio-economic epidemiology, environmental toxicology, southwestRelevant 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.