NIEHS's New Strategic Plan

Levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Adipose Tissue of the General Population of the Nation

Research ArticleOpen AccessCarcinogenesis bioassay results from the National Toxicology Program. J Huff J Huff Search for more papers by this author Published:1 November 1982https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.8245185Cited by:11AboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InReddit FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited by Huff J (2013) Benzene-induced Cancers: Abridged History and Occupational Health Impact, International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 10.1179/oeh.2007.13.2.213, 13:2, (213-221), Online publication date: 1-Apr-2007. Linkov I, Polkanov M, Shagiakhmetov A, Wilson R and Gray G (2016) Correlations among tumor types in mouse cancer bioassays: liver adenomas, liver carcinomas, leukemias and lymphomas, Toxicology and Industrial Health, 10.1177/074823370001600103, 16:1, (16-40), Online publication date: 1-Feb-2000. Dunnick J and Elwell M (1989) Toxicity studies of amphetamine sulfate, ampicillin trihydrate, codeine, 8-methoxypsoralen, α-methyldopa, penicillin VK and propantheline bromide in rats and mice, Toxicology, 10.1016/0300-483X(89)90127-3, 56:2, (123-136), Online publication date: 1-Jun-1989. Yoshitomi K, Alison R and Boorman G (2016) Adenoma and Adenocarcinoma of the Gallbladder in Aged Laboratory Mice, Veterinary Pathology, 10.1177/030098588602300428, 23:4, (523-527), Online publication date: 1-Jul-1986. Jansson K and Jansson V (1986) Inability of chlorophenols to induce 6-thioguanine-resistant mutants in V79 Chinese hamster cells, Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology, 10.1016/0165-1218(86)90050-9, 171:2-3, (165-168), Online publication date: 1-Aug-1986. (2018) Chemical carcinogens: a review of the science and its associated principles. U.S. Interagency Staff Group on Carcinogens., Environmental Health Perspectives, 67, (201-282), Online publication date: 1-Aug-1986. Witte I, Juhl U and Butte W (1985) DNA-damaging properties and cytotoxicity in human fibroblasts of tetrachlorohydroquinone, a pentachlorophenol metabolite, Mutation Research/DNA Repair Reports, 10.1016/0167-8817(85)90042-2, 145:1-2, (71-75), Online publication date: 1-Jan-1985. Haseman J, Crawford D, Huff J, Boorman G and McConnell E (2009) Results from 86 two‐year carcinogenicity studies conducted by the national toxicology program, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 10.1080/15287398409530613, 14:5-6, (621-639), Online publication date: 1-Jan-1984. Haseman J, Huff J and Boorman G (2016) Use of Historical Control Data in Carcinogenicity Studies in Rodents, Toxicologic Pathology, 10.1177/019262338401200203, 12:2, (126-135), Online publication date: 1-Feb-1984. Hart L, Huff J, Moore J and Rall D (1983) The National Toxicology Program's Research and Testing Activities Hazard Assessment of Chemicals, 10.1016/B978-0-12-312402-9.50012-3, (191-244), . Maronpot R and Boorman G (2016) Interpretation of Rodent Hepatocellular Proliferative Alterations and Hepatocellular Tumors in Chemical Safety Assessment , , Toxicologic Pathology, 10.1177/019262338201000210, 10:2, (71-78), Online publication date: 1-Feb-1982. Vol. 45November 1982Metrics About Article Metrics Publication History Originally published1 November 1982Published in print1 November 1982 Financial disclosuresPDF download License information EHP is an open-access journal published with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. All content is public domain unless otherwise noted. Note to readers with disabilities EHP strives to ensure that all journal content is accessible to all readers. However, some figures and Supplemental Material published in EHP articles may not conform to 508 standards due to the complexity of the information being presented. If you need assistance accessing journal content, please contact [email protected]. Our staff will work with you to assess and meet your accessibility needs within 3 working days.

Environmental Aftermath

Background:Environmental health (EH) professionals, one of the largest segments of the public health workforce, are responsible for delivery of essential environmental public health services. The challenges facing these professionals and research needs to improve EH practice are not fully understood, but 26% of EH professionals working in health departments of the United States plan to retire in 5 y, while only 6% of public health students are currently pursuing EH concentrations.Objectives:A groundbreaking initiative was recently launched to understand EH practice in health departments of the United States. This commentary article aims to identify priority EH practice challenges and related research needs for health departments.Methods:A horizon scanning approach was conducted in which challenges facing EH professionals were provided by 1,736 respondents working at health departments who responded to a web-based survey fielded in November 2017. Thematic analyses of the responses and determining the frequency at which respondents reported specific issues and opportunities identified primary EH topic areas. These topic areas and related issues informed focus group discussions at an in-person workshop held in Anaheim, California. The purpose of the in-person workshop was to engage each of the topic areas and issues, through facilitated focus groups, leading to the formation of four to five related problem statements for each EH topic.Discussion:EH professionals are strategically positioned to diagnose, intervene, and prevent public health threats. Focus group engagement resulted in 29 priority problem statements partitioned among 6 EH topic areas: a) drinking water quality, b) wastewater management, c) healthy homes, d) food safety, e) vectors and public health pests, and f) emerging issues. This commentary article identifies priority challenges and related research needs to catalyze effective delivery of essential environmental public health services for common EH program areas in health departments. An unprecedented initiative to revitalize EH practice with timely and strategic recommendations for student and professional training, nontraditional partnerships, and basic and translational research activities is recommended. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5161

NIEHS Supports Partnerships in Environmental Public Health Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD I would like to start by thanking the journal for inviting me to write an editorial to accompany Dr. Juliana van Olphen and her colleagues’ thoughtful evaluation that focuses on the important topic of community health partnerships.1 As the new director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, I am pleased to take on this role during a time when both the environment and health are top priorities for our country. I am a big supporter of community-based participatory research (CBPR) that ensures community members have an active role in planning, implementing, translating and disseminating research that addresses local environmental health concerns. NIEHS has been a long-standing leader in fostering partnerships between community groups and researchers to better understand environmental causes of disease. Our commitment is demonstrated in a number of ways. For example, NIEHS, in cooperation with the National Cancer Institute, requires that a Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) is established in each of our four Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers—one of which was the subject of Dr. van Olphen’s independent analysis published in this issue. COTCs conduct essential work to ensure that the views and concerns of the breast cancer advocacy community are heard and that the research findings are disseminated to the public. Developing educational materials for children and adults about breast cancer and the environment, holding public awareness forums and town meetings, and exploring areas of concern or interest to the community are all essential activities led by the COTC to create community participation in environmental health issues such as breast cancer. What van Olphen’s article demonstrates is that COTCs can further advance and promote CBPR principles within research-intensive Centers. NIEHS grantees employing CBPR approaches are contributing to our understanding about breast cancer and the environment. There is a growing body of literature showing that early-life exposures to endocrine disruptors—particularly during gestation and childhood, but also continuing through puberty, first childbirth, and breastfeeding—are critical to later-life breast cancer risk. As researchers learn more about what causes and how to prevent breast cancer, grantees such as those we support through our environmental justice program are spreading the word and empowering communities to take action. Breast cancer advocates in two communities that differ in racial/ethnic and economic character are working in partnership with researchers to assess household exposures to endocrine disrupting compounds, and to develop communication tools for reporting results to affected individuals and communities.2 These research findings are being used by community groups and advocates to affect public health and lead to policy changes. Congress recently recognized the contributions of NIEHS and the National Institutes of Health as a whole for their outstanding work in the breast cancer and environment area, when it passed the “Breast Cancer and Environment Research Act of 2008.”3 The Act looks to NIH to take a lead role in defining the future research agenda for collaborative research efforts related to breast cancer and the environment. NIEHS’ leadership role in translating research on breast cancer and the environment is the outgrowth of the Institute’s commitment to CBPR approaches that promote having the community actively involved in shaping and conducting research and intervention strategies. Since 1995, through its CBPR activities, the Institute has supported principles that have been developed and shared by leaders in the field such as those developed by Barbara Israel et al. 4 and Lawrence Green et al.5 Principles that call for building on the strengths and resources within the community; focusing on the local relevance of public health problems; and disseminating results to all partners are endorsed by NIEHS and are evident in work supported by NIEHS. Recognizing the [End Page 195] continuum of CBPR, the Institute promotes these principles throughout a variety of programs from traditional outreach and education efforts to more complex biomedical, hypothesis-driven research questions that address environmental justice and health disparities issues. To build upon our past accomplishments and to progress our research agenda in this area, we recently sought input from research grantees and members of advocacy...

Environmental health research and the COVID-19 pandemic: A turning point towards sustainability

Simple SummaryThe increasing release of harmful pollutants into our environment threatens our health. To detect these dangerous substances, scientists are using special detectors called “biomonitors”, and honey bees are some of the most helpful ones. Honey bees collect pollutants from the air, soil, and water when they go out to find food, which makes them exceptional indicators of what is going on in our environment. In our recent study, we looked at how well honey bees can help us monitor pollutants from an environmental health perspective. We searched through scientific databases and found 19 studies on this topic published between 2010 and 2020. Most of these studies looked at heavy metals in honey bees and hive products like honey. The whole honey bee was found to be the most reliable biomonitor. Overall, this research tells us that honey bees can help us monitor pollutants in our environment.Recently, the One Health concept, which recognizes the interconnectedness of environmental, animal, and human health, has gained popularity. To collect data on environmental pollutants potentially harmful to human health over time, researchers often turn to natural organisms known as biomonitors. Honey bees, in particular, prove to be exceptionally valuable biomonitors due to their capacity to accumulate pollutants from the air, soil, and water within a specific radius during their foraging trips. This systematic literature review summarizes the previous application of the bee species Apis mellifera in pollutant monitoring in articles published during the period of 2010–2020. Nineteen studies were included in this systematic literature review. Of these studies, the majority (n = 15) focused on the detection of heavy metals in honey bees and beehive products, while 4 studies focused on air pollution by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or particulate matter. The matrix most often applied was the whole honey bee. The included studies demonstrated that honey bees and hive products deliver quantitative and qualitative information about specific pollutants. In this regard, the whole honey bee was found to be the most reliable biomonitor. We found that the included studies differed in design and the methods used. Standardized studies could foster a more consistent interpretation of the levels detected in beehive matrices from an environmental health perspective.

Ash plumes erupting from volcanoes can cause a range of health effects following exposure either to the initial emissions or to deposited material that becomes resuspended days, months, or years later.Researchers from the United States, Iceland, and Australia now report in EHP evidence that exposure to volcanic ash may both foster bacterial growth in the respiratory system and weaken the ability of the immune system to limit that growth, possibly contributing to respiratory infections that have been documented in relation to past eruptions. 1ach year eruptions occur at about 50-70 above-sea locations; eruptions have been documented for about 550 volcanoes in all, and roughly 1,300 have been active at some point in the past 10,000 years. 2 Some of this activity generates ash plumes that affect potentially millions of people.Volcanic ash can contain significant quantities of respirable particles of rock, minerals, and volcanic glass, and eruptions also emit hazardous gases such as sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrochloric acid, and hydrofluoric acid. 3he 20 March 2010 eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull (pronounced, roughly, AY-yah-FYET-lah-YOH-kuhl), another larger eruption on 14 April 2010, and ongoing volcanic activity through late May 2011 ejected numerous major ash plumes that spread far and wide.For the current study, the researchers primarily used one sample of this ash that was collected on the ground 15 April 2010 at a location 58 km from the volcano.The ash was composed of a complex mixture of aluminosilicate volcanic glass and minerals including iron, titanium, manganese, zinc, strontium, and barium.The researchers used a ubiquitous and potent

Cumulative risk assessment posits that multiple agents work together to induce disease and that multiple stressors therefore must be considered in order to gain a true understanding of why adverse health effects occur.1 Now a small but growing number of scientists are pushing the envelope by investigating whether chronic psychological stress might be one of those factors, enhancing a child’s vulnerability to certain chemical exposures and contributing to effects that later show up as asthma, neurodevelopmental disorders, cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, and other problems. These researchers are also starting to identify biomarkers that may shed light on the mechanisms by which psychological stress acts on a child’s developing immune system and brain to modify or enhance the response to certain pollution exposures such as traffic-related air pollutants and lead. “We really don’t know how broadly such interactions may occur across chemicals. They are much more likely to occur when the chemical itself acts directly upon stress systems,” says Deborah Cory-Slechta, a professor of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry. “We know some chemicals that interact with stress, such as lead exposure, but we don’t know which others do.” Observations of links between stress and disease date back to at least the twelfth century, when the philosopher Maimonides cited emotional upset as a factor in asthma.2 But proving such links poses a significant challenge, says Malcolm P. Cutchin, a professor at the School of Medicine of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Much has been hypothesized about the linkages, but we are just now beginning to tease out relationships and understand the processes,” Cutchin says. As researchers have learned more about techniques that can identify chemical and stress exposures in the human body, they have begun to apply techniques to estimate how people respond to stress and how that response, if it goes awry, can facilitate the development of diseases.

Identifies household air pollution (HAP) as a major health risk, especially in poor countries which rely on biomass for cooking. Particulate matter concentration in indoor kitchens that use solid fuels for cooking account for an estimated 370,000 premature deaths globally based on 2014 data. Direct health impacts include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung disease, and cataracts while children face acute lower respiratory infections. Interventions offer cleaner stoves through national stove programs and the development of standards and guidelines to promote only the cleanest devices, emphasizing the optimal use of electricity, natural gas, or LPG. Little benefit comes from converting individual users, so interventions need to target communities to become “smokeless” villages. Successful stove programs typically involve a public subsidy for the poor and because of savings on health care costs, its expense can be justified. Full adoption of a newer technology for clean cooking may not occur until generational change, with the present generation continuing to use the traditional methods despite the benefits to the family of the cleaner technology.

Instruments for Assessing Risk of Bias and Other Methodological Criteria: Krauth et al. Respond

More than 3 million children 10 million child deaths annually throughout the world [World Health Organization (WHO) 2005]. Some factors of susceptibility, including race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, are generally not well understood in the context of risk assessment. For children’s environmental health the focus is almost exclusively on age-related differences and exposure hazards, without much discussion of the myriad additional factors including nutritional status, preexisting health status, multiple exposures, and gender differences that can affect the life course of a child.

At the New Mexico Center for Environmental Health Sciences (NMCEHS), community concerns and relationships are as much at the center’s foundation as the latest research techniques. According to center director Scott Burchiel, the unique populations of New Mexico—including a high number of Hispanics and Native American tribes, pueblos, and sovereign nations—steer the center’s course. “One of the things we have tried to do is to determine what these populations’ concerns are for environmental health, because we want our center to be focused on environmental public health, and we want to work on basic research projects that address issues that people in this region are particularly interested in,” he says. Based in Albuquerque as a partnership of The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (LRRI), the NIEHS-funded center comprises major research cores in environmental cancer and oxidative stress, cardiovascular toxicology, environmental lung disease, and population health and epidemiology. The center also includes world-class facility cores (particularly for inhalation toxicology), a pilot project program to provide funding for small innovative research studies, and an unusually strong community outreach and education program (COEP). Community input is essential, as is trust. “We have investigators who may have certain interests for certain kinds of projects and want to work with communities,” says Burchiel. “But when we go to the community, we find out that [the community has] a different agenda, different interests. We’ve been learning how to work with communities since we’ve had this environmental health center.” It’s a process that involves a lot of development of community relationships and trust relationships. Burchiel says that investigating environmental health problems such as asthma requires a broad definition of environment. He says, “In our center, we define the environment quite broadly. It includes nutritional, social, behavioral, economic, and built environment components. . . . We have not only environmental epidemiologists [but] also social epidemiologists who help us look at social factors in assessing economic and poverty factors.”

Uptake and Fate of Di-2-Ethylhexyl Phthalate in Aquatic Organisms and in a Model Ecosystem

Peer-reviewed journals are a vital source of information exchange for researchers and clinicians in the medical and environmental health arena. The timely publication of credible research is integral to advancing the realm of knowledge in any given topic area. Many Northern Hemisphere journals have access to a range of resources to aid in timely publication: a database of potential peer reviewers, adequate staff and tools to produce each issue, and the funds to ensure publication. However, journals in developing regions such as sub-Saharan Africa usually don’t have these same resources. As a result, publication can be erratic, and important information may not reach the people who need it most. Now a multinational partnership of editors from science and medical journals, including EHP, is working to help African journals gain a greater voice on the scientific publishing stage.