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2002 Progress Report: VOC Exposure in an Industry Impacted Community
EPA Grant Number: R828678C003Subproject: this is subproject number 003 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R824834
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC)
Center Director: Beskid, Craig
Title: VOC Exposure in an Industry Impacted Community
Investigators: Buckley, Timothy
Institution: Johns Hopkins University
EPA Project Officer: Stacey Katz/Gail Robarge,
Project Period: January 2, 2001 through December 31, 2005 (Extended to December 31, 2008)
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 2, 2002 through December 31, 2003
RFA: Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC) (1997)
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Targeted Research
Description:
Objective:The goal of this research project is to measure volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations for personal exposure assessment by monitoring individuals' indoor and outdoor environments within a south Baltimore community in proximity to industrial emissions. The specific objectives are to: (1) provide VOC exposure information to a concerned community, (2) apportion indoor and outdoor sources, and (3) evaluate benzene as an exposure biomarker. The study is in response to community concerns over the potential health hazard due to the intensity and proximity of industrial sources. A sample of 40 adults and 15 children in 40 homes in this community will be monitored for indoor, outdoor, and personal exposures to VOCs. The substances to be measured include benzene, carbon tetrachloride, and 1,3-butadiene. In addition to monitoring individuals and environments in the community, control subjects (15 adult and child pairs) in a reference community will be monitored. As a result of these measurements, source apportionment will be attempted for these specific chemicals.
The National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC) support supplements a previous U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant, which will monitor 30 residents of the exposed community, and 15 residents of the comparison unexposed community with Organic Vapor Monitor (OVM) VOC badges. Separately, the NUATRC support supplements a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) first award to measure biomarkers of benzene exposure of the exposed community residents.
Progress Summary:This project was developed in response to NUATRC RFA 98-03, "NUATRC New Investigators Small Grants Program," intended to foster the development of short-term research projects on exposures/health effects of urban air toxics by new investigators. The study protocol is approved by the Johns Hopkins Institutional Review Board, and the human subject consent is in compliance with governmental regulations. The study is in compliance with NUATRC and U.S. EPA quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) guidelines.
Sampling for the study and analyses of the OVM badges were completed in the fall of 2001.
During 2002, the investigators completed the air exchange rates measurements and cotinine analyses. Analyses of urine samples for benzene metabolite, trans, trans-muconic acid were completed. For the remaining part of 2002, the investigators focused their efforts on data analyses and report preparation.
A total of six subjects were removed from the analysis of personal and indoor community differences, as they did not meet the study eligibility criteria based on the results of urine cotinine analyses.
The preliminary distribution of the air toxics between indoor, outdoor, and personal for both the control and target communities indicated that for all the compounds studied there was no statistically significant difference in distribution between the target and control community. A statistically significant association was observed between 24-hour benzene air concentrations and creatinine corrected trans, trans-muconic acid elimination. Also, consistent with air monitoring results, there was no difference detected between the communities with respect to the benzene biomarkers.
The investigators requested additional time for writing and submitting the report, and a no-cost extension was granted through March 2003. The draft Final Report was received at the Center in December 2002, and currently is undergoing external peer review.
Future Activities:The final report will be prepared.
Journal Articles:No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 3 publications for this subproject
Supplemental Keywords:air pollution, air pollutants, air toxics, benzene, benzene biomarkers, air monitoring, indoor, outdoor, personal, particles, particulate matter, PM, volatile organic compounds, VOCs, industrial emissions, exposure assessment, air toxics, urban air toxics, source apportionment, Baltimore, Maryland, MD. , HUMAN HEALTH, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Air, Scientific Discipline, Health, RFA, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Risk Assessment, Biology, Risk Assessments, Health Risk Assessment, Physical Processes, air toxics, Chemicals, particulate matter, Environmental Chemistry, Exposure, Air Pollution, biomarkers, chemical mixtures, exposure assessment, environmental hazard exposures, airborne urban contaminants, acute exposure, Acute health effects, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), air contaminant exposure, co-pollutants, air quality, benzene, cardiopulmonary response, fine particles, industrial air pollution, butadiene, cardiopulmonary responses, human health risk, lung inflammation, toxics, acute cardiovascular effects, air pollutants, chronic health effects, PM 2.5, sensitive populations, acute lung injury, atmospheric chemistry, carbon tetrachloride, inhaled, atmospheric particulate matter, copollutant exposures, susceptible subpopulations, long term exposure, human susceptibility, human exposure, PM, particulate exposure
Relevant Websites:
http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/mleland/ 
Progress and Final Reports:
2001 Progress Report
Original Abstract
2003 Progress Report
2004 Progress Report
Final Report
Main Center Abstract and Reports:
R824834 Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC)
Subprojects under this Center:
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R824834C001 Air Toxics Exposures Among Teenagers in New York City and Los Angeles - A Columbia-Harvard Study (TEACH)
R824834C002 Cardiopulmonary Response to Particulate Exposure
R824834C003 VOC Exposure in an Industry Impacted Community
R824834C004 A Study of Personal Exposure to Air Toxics Among a Subset of the Residential U.S. Population (VOC Project)
R824834C005 Methods Development Project for a Study of Personal Exposures to Toxic Air Pollutants
R824834C006 Relationship Between Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Air (RIOPA)
R824834C007 Development of the "Leland Legacy" Air Sampling Pump
R824834C008 Source Apportionment of Indoor Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Urban Residences
R824834C009 Development of a Personal Cascade Impactor Sampler (PCIS)
R824834C010 Testing the Metals Hypothesis in Spokane
R828678C001 Air Toxics Exposures Among Teenagers in New York City and Los Angeles—A Columbia-Harvard Study (TEACH)
R828678C002 Cardiopulmonary Effects of Metal-Containing Particulate Exposure
R828678C003 VOC Exposure in an Industry Impacted Community
R828678C004 A Study of Personal Exposure to Air Toxics Among a Subset of the Residential U.S. Population (VOC Project)
R828678C005 Oxygenated Urban Air Toxics and Asthma Variability in Middle School Children: A Panel Study (ATAC–Air Toxics and Asthma in Children)
R828678C006 Relationship between Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Air (RIOPA). Part II: Analyses of Concentrations of Particulate Matter Species
R828678C007 Development of the “Leland Legacy” Air Sampling Pump
R828678C008 Source Apportionment of Indoor PAHs in Urban Residences 98-03B
R828678C009 Development of a Personal Cascade Impactor Sampler (PCIS)
R828678C010 Testing the Metals Hypothesis in Spokane
R828678C011 A Pilot Geospatial Analysis of Exposure to Air Pollutants (with Special Attention to Air Toxics) and Hospital Admissions in Harris County, Texas
R828678C012 Impact of Exposure to Urban Air Toxics on Asthma Utilization for the Pediatric Medicaid Population in Dearborn, Michigan
R828678C013 Field Validation of the Sioutas Sampler and Leland Legacy Pump – Joint Project with EPA’s Environmental Technology Validation Program (ETV)
R828678C014 Performance Evaluation of the 3M Charcoal Vapor Monitor for Monitor Low Ambient Concentrations of VOCs
R828678C015 RIOPA Database Development
R828678C016 Contributions of Outdoor PM Sources to Indoor and Personal Exposures: Analysis of PM Species Concentrations” Focused on the PM Speciation and Apportioning of Sources
R828678C017 The Short and Long-Term Respiratory Effects of Exposure to PAHs from Traffic in a Cohort of Asthmatic Children