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2004 Progress Report: Exposure Assessment of Children and Metals in Mining Waste: Composition, Environmental Transport, and Exposure Patterns

EPA Grant Number: R831725C002
Subproject: this is subproject number 002 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R831725
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Harvard Center for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research
Center Director: Hu, Howard
Title: Exposure Assessment of Children and Metals in Mining Waste: Composition, Environmental Transport, and Exposure Patterns
Investigators: Shine, James P. , Spengler, John D.
Institution: Harvard School of Public Health
EPA Project Officer: Fields, Nigel
Project Period: June 1, 2004 through May 31, 2009
Project Period Covered by this Report: June 1, 2004 through May 31, 2005
RFA: Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research (2003)
Research Category: Children's Health , Health Effects

Description:

Objective:

The objectives of this research project are to:  (1) assess the utility of size fractionation and sequential extraction studies for characterizing chat; (2) conduct a nested case-control study of the determinants of high versus low burdens of metals amongst children participating in Project 1 (R831725C001); and (3) produce standardized homogenized chat for Projects 3 and 4 (R831725C003 and R831725C004, respectively).

Progress Summary:

During Year 1, the primary efforts have been on Objectives 1 and 2 (i.e., to characterize children’s exposure to metals originating from mine wastes and to perform a nested case-control study comparing metal concentrations and bioavailability in exposure media between homes with children with high and low blood lead and manganese levels).  The research team visited the Tar Creek area twice in Year 1.  The first trip in September 2004 was designed to familiarize ourselves with the Tar Creek area and to work out the logistics for future sampling events.  During this visit, we made presentations to both the Community Advisory Board (CAB) and the Tribal Subcommittee to describe the goals of the study.  Pilot samples were taken of soil, outdoor air, sediment, and plants to validate the laboratory digestion methods.  We have been successful in developing standard procedures for sequential extractions of soil and sediment, as well as worked out more sophisticated X-ray techniques such as scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction (SEM-XRD) analysis.

The second trip occurred during January 2005, at which time the following samples were collected:  (1) approximately 120 water samples along the length of Tar Creek; (2) approximately 25 sediment samples from along the length of Tar Creek; and (3) approximately 45 samples of mine wastes (chat) from various chat piles in the Tar Creek area.

In addition, we gave an open presentation at the Miami, Oklahoma, Civic Center to explain the goals of our study to the community at large.  Attendees included officials from the State of Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, the University of Oklahoma, and tribal representatives.  During this second trip, the investigators also met with representatives from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to ensure that permission was granted to take environmental samples from tribal lands.

Significance

The outreach to stakeholders made by the Project 2 research team will be critical to ensuring the coordination of our efforts with those being made by other government and nongovernment organizations as well as ensuring the cooperation of the community with our sampling efforts.

The sample collection conducted in Year 1 will provide an important archive of substrates to be used for our experimental work.

Future Activities:

The goal during the next few months is to analyze these samples and distribute subsamples to the investigators in Projects 3 and 4 for the animal studies.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 3 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

children, Native American, tribal, mixtures, lead PBPK, community, Superfund, intervention, environmental management, , ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Scientific Discipline, Waste, Health, RFA, Risk Assessment, Health Risk Assessment, Children's Health, Hazardous Waste, Biochemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Hazardous, epidemiology, neurodevelopmental toxicity, developmental toxicity, fate and transport , children's environmental health, mining wastes, human health risk, mining waste, community-based intervention, metal contamination, metal wastes, biological markers, metals
Relevant Websites:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/niehs/childrenexit EPA

Progress and Final Reports:
Original Abstract
2005 Progress Report


Main Center Abstract and Reports:
R831725    Harvard Center for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R831725C001 Metals, Nutrition, and Stress in Child Development
R831725C002 Exposure Assessment of Children and Metals in Mining Waste: Composition, Environmental Transport, and Exposure Patterns
R831725C003 Manganese, Iron, Cadmium, and Lead Transport from the Environment to Critical Organs During Gestation and Early Development in a Rat Model
R831725C004 Metals Neurotoxicity Research Project

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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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