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2005 Progress Report: Impact of Exposure to Urban Air Toxics on Asthma Utilization for the Pediatric Medicaid Population in Dearborn, Michigan

EPA Grant Number: R828678C012
Subproject: this is subproject number 012 , 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: Impact of Exposure to Urban Air Toxics on Asthma Utilization for the Pediatric Medicaid Population in Dearborn, Michigan
Investigators: Wahl, Robert L
Institution: Division of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology
EPA Project Officer: Katz, Stacey
Project Period: January 2, 2001 through December 31, 2005 (Extended to December 31, 2008)
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 2, 2004 through December 31, 2005
RFA: Targeted Research Center (2004)
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Targeted Research

Description:

Objective:

The proposal submitted by Dr. Wahl mainly dealt with the assessment of the relationship between exposure to ambient levels of certain urban air toxics (UATs), as measured by outdoor air monitors and utilization of urgent care facilities by children enrolled in Medicaid in Dearborn, Michigan. After the first quarterly report the Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) had certain concerns which were addressed by Dr. Wahl in the second quarterly report. A Research Contract was signed between National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC) and Michigan Department of Community Medicine on December 29, 2004. The contract lasts up to December 2006. There was a delay in receiving the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from the University of Michigan, which now has been received.

The overall objective of this proposal is to assess the relationship between exposures to ambient levels of certain UATs, as measured by outdoor air monitors, and utilization of urgent care facilities by children enrolled in Medicaid in Dearborn, Michigan. The two principal hypotheses and related aims follow:

Hypothesis 1

Levels of selected UATs, including 1,3-butadiene, acetaldehyde, acetonitrile, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, formaldehyde, methylene chloride, tetrachloroethene, and trichloroethene, are related to measures of urgent care utilization for asthma among a pediatric Medicaid population in Dearborn, Michigan.

The specific aims for this hypothesis are:

Hypothesis 2

UAT concentrations represent contributions from various emission source groupings that in turn are related to urgent care utilization for asthma among the same pediatric Medicaid population. The specific aims for this hypothesis are:

Progress Summary:

Three quarterly reports were submitted from January-March, April-June, and July-September 2005. The investigators obtained the UAT data files for Dearborn from April 19, 2001 to April 19, 2002, from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). They also obtained criteria air pollutant data files for the Detroit area from April 19, 2001, to April 19, 2002, from MDEQ. The MEDICAID data on asthma urgent care events with a primary diagnosis of asthma that occurred between April 19, 2001, and April 19, 2002, with a prespecified residential ZIP code from the Michigan Data Warehouse were obtained.

The investigators revised the Data Analysis Plan, which was approved by the SAP and completed the QA/QC Plan. They developed a surrogate for PM2.5 levels for Dearborn but encountered difficulties because of lack of correlation data set. UATs from split samples were analyzed by two separate laboratories used by the MDEQ. Because of this, there was a delay in the formatting of the UAT data and descriptive analysis. They formatted MEDICAID data but, because of lack of IRB approval for the University of Michigan, could not proceed with the descriptive analysis.

Although the investigators promised that the University of Michigan IRB approval was imminent, in September they notified that there was further delay. Because of the lack of compliance with IRB and as a result lack of adequate progress the SAP recommended and the NUATRC suspended funding on the project pending receipt of IRB approval and appropriate response to the SAP’s concerns regarding some of the study methods and analyses. The investigators provided detailed response to the SAP’s concerns in early December. The response was found to be satisfactory. On December 16, the investigators provided the NUATRC with the University of Michigan IRB approval. Since then, the NUATRC has resumed funding for the project. The investigators assure that they will be completing the project as per the original timeline.

Future Activities:

The next report is due in March 2006.

Supplemental Keywords:

Air pollution, urban, monitoring, exposure, methods, volatile organic compounds, VOCs, particulate matter, PM, environmental policy, exposure, health risk assessment, physical processes, risk assessments, susceptibility/sensitive population/genetic susceptibility, air toxics, genetic susceptibility, acute health effects, acute cardiovascular effects, acute exposure, acute lung injury, air contaminant exposure, air quality, airborne urban contaminants, airway disease, aldehydes, assessment of exposure, atmospheric particulate matter, cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary response, children, children’s environmental health, chronic health effects, copollutants, copollutant exposures, environmental hazard exposures, fine particles, health effects, human exposure, human health risk, human susceptibility, indoor air, inhaled pollutants, long-term exposure, lung inflammation, particulate exposure, sensitive populations, susceptible subpopulations, toxics, , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, HUMAN HEALTH, Scientific Discipline, Health, RFA, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, Health Effects, Risk Assessments, Aquatic Ecosystems & Estuarine Research, Health Risk Assessment, Physical Processes, Aquatic Ecosystem, Biochemistry, Genetics, water quality, urban environment, airborne urban contaminants, environmental tobacco smoke, respiratory disease, ozone, human health risk, air pollution, airway disease, particulate matter, exposure, allergic airway disease, asthma, human exposure
Relevant Websites:

http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/mleland/ exit EPA

Progress and Final Reports:
Original Abstract
2006 Progress Report
2007 Progress 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

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The 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.

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