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IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT FOR TETRACHLOROETHENE BY USING BIOMARKERS AND NEUROBEHAVIORAL TESTING IN DIVERSE RESIDENTIAL POPULATIONS
Description:
The U.S. EPA considers tetrachloroethene (perc) a problematic pollutant in urban areas. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has documented high levels of perc in the indoor air of apartments located in the same buildings as dry cleaning facilities in New York State; others have reported this nation- and world-wide. Residents in these buildings are at high risk of acute and chronic health effects from perc exposure at indoor air levels that are well above the acute and chronic minimal risk levels for inhalation. These inadvertent exposures to perc provide a unique opportunity to compare possible neurobehavioral effects in children and adults. The objectives of this study are to: (1) assess perc exposure and neurological vulnerability of children and adults by measuring personal air, and biomarkers of dose in exhaled breath, blood and urine; (2) determine the relationship between environmental perc concentrations and biomarkers of dose; (3) assess neurobehavioral functions in the exposed and control groups; and (4) determine if dose-response relationships exist between the environmental and/or biological measures of exposure and neurological effects using a multilinear regression model with covariants for age, gender and activity levels. Exposed study participants will include 80 residents (40 children, 40 adults) of buildings that contain elevated perc levels from an operating dry cleaning facility; controls will be 80 residents (40 children, 40 adults) who reside in an area without this or other sources of neurotoxicant exposures. The proposed 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 re-evaluated to determine if it is protective of children's health.