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PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT

GENERAL MOTORS (CENTRAL FOUNDRY DIVISION)
MASSENA, ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK


APPENDIX F: NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH'S HEALTH ADVISORY FOR CHEMICALS IN SPORTFISH AND GAME

Appendix F was not available in electronic format for conversion to HTML at the time of preparation of this document. To obtain a hard copy of the document, please contact:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation
Attn: Chief, Program Evaluation, Records, and Information Services Branch E-56
1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30333


APPENDIX G: HEALTH STUDIES IVOLVING THE MOHAWK AKWESASNE POPULATION

Completed Studies

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and New York State Department of Health. 1995. Exposure to PCBs from Hazardous Waste Among Mohawk Women and Infants at Akwesasne. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S Public Health Services. Grant #H75/ATH 290025-01.

New York State Department of Health. 1992. Chemical Contaminants in the Milk of Mohawk Women from Akweasane. Division of Occupational Health and Environmental Epidemiology. Albany, New York.

New York State Department of Health. 1995. Health Risk Assessment for the Akwesasne Mohawk Population from Exposure to Chemical Contaminants in Fish and Wildlife. Center for Environmental Health, Bureau of Toxic Substance Assessment. Albany, New York.

Selikoff, I.J. and E.C. Hammond. 1986. Environmental Contaminants and the Health of the People of the St. Regis Reservations, Volume II. Environmental Sciences Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York. New York, New York.

On-Going Studies

Fitzgerald, E.F., S.A. Hwang, et al. 1992-1998. Sponsor - ATSDR. PCB, DDE, Mirex and HCB Exposure Among Native American Men and Women from Contaminated Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Fish and Wildlife. This study has four main objectives: (1) to conduct a multi-media assessment of exposure to PCBs, DDE, Mirex and HCB through dietary, occupational, residential and recreational routes among Mohawk adults; (2) to test the ability of PCBs, DDE, Mirex and HCB to induce subtle biological effects such as elevations in P-450 liver enzyme activity and modulations in endocrine hormones among Mohawk adults; (3) to compare exposure, body burdens, and hepatic and hormonal effects of the PCBs, DDE, Mirex and HCB between spouses and other related Mohawk men and women; and (4) to test for transgenerational differences in exposure, body burden and biological effects among infants, parents, and grandparents.

Santiago-Rivera, A.L., G. Morse, R. McCaffrey and R. Haase. 1995-2000. Sponsor - NIEHS. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which exposure to PCBs, as determined by body burden levels and perceived impact of the exposure, affect the Mohawk's cultural identity and practices, neuropsychological functioning and quality of life. The study will also examine the extent to which these factors are related to depression and psychological distress.

Schell, L.M., J. Newman and J. Jaccard. 1995-2000. Sponsor - NIEHS. This research seeks to identify the consequences of exposure to PCBs and other toxins in he environment on the health of children and youth as measured by their physical growth and maturation and by their cognitive/behavioral development. There are two general objectives of this research, 1) to identify the effects of PCB body burden on endocrines that reflect thyroid function and sexual maturation, and on the physical growth, maturation and cognitive development of children and youth, and 2) to identify the role of body composition, specifically fat stores, in determining the level of PCBs in circulation and as a modifier of their effects.

Schymura, M., E. Fitzgerald, S. Hwang, I. Zurbenko and G. Lambert. 1995-2000. Sponsor - NIEHS. This research seeks to assess in vivo cytochrome P-4501A2 activity in older Mohawk adults through a caffeine breath test, a safe and non-invasive procedure that measures the rate at which labelled carbon dioxide is exhaled as an indirect monitor. Outreach will consist of transmitting the results to study participants, assisting the Mohawk community in developing health education and promotion programs, and evaluating mortality, morbidity, and risk factor patterns at Akwesasne using vital records, cancer registry reports, hospital discharge data, laboratory analyses and the core interview. The exposure status will be assessed of adult Mohawk participants to PCBs from all relevant sources and the relationship of exposure to body burdens, cytochrome P-450 activity and alterations in endocrine hormones will be determined.


APPENDIX H: ATSDR GUIDANCE FOR ASSIGNING A PUBLIC HEALTH HAZARD CATEGORY

Category Definition Criteria
A. Urgent public health hazard This category is used for sites that pose an urgent public health hazard as the result of short-term eposure to hazardous substances.
  • evidence exists that exposures have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occurr in the future AND
  • estimated exposures are to a substance(s) at concentrations in the environment that, upon short-term exposures, can cause adverse health effects to any segment of the receptor population AND/OR
  • community-specific health outcome data indicate that the site has had an adverse impact on human health that requires rapid intervention AND/OR
  • physical hazards at the site pose an imminent risk of physical injury
B. Public health hazard This category is used for sites that pose a public health hazard as the result of long-term eposure to hazardous substances.
  • evidence exists that exposures have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occurr in the future AND
  • estimated exposures are to a substance(s) at concentrations in the environment that, upon long-term exposures, can cause adverse health effects to any segment of the receptor population AND/OR
  • community-specific health outcome data indicate that the site has had an adverse impact on human health that requires rapid intervention
C. Indeterminate public health hazard This category is used for sites with incomplete information.
  • limited available data do not indicate that humans are being or have been exposed to levels of contamination that would be expected to cause adverse health effects; data or information are not available for all environmental media to which humans may be exposed AND
  • there are insufficient or no community-specific health outcome data to indicate that the site has had an adverse impact on human health
D. No apparent public health hazard This category is used for sites where human exposure to contaminated media is occurring or has occurred in the past, but the exposure is below a level of health hazard.
  • exposures do not exceed an ATSDR chronic MRL or other comparable value AND
  • data are available for all environmental media to which humans are being exposed AND
  • there are no community-specific health outcome data to indicate that the site has had an adverse impact on human health
E. No public health hazard This category is used for sites that do not pose a public health hazard.
  • no evidence of current or past human exposure to contaminated media AND
  • future exposures to contaminated media are not likely to occur AND
  • there are no community-specific health outcome data to indicate that the site has had an adverse impact on human health

 

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