Tribal-University Evaluation of Chemical Exposures to Improve Community Health

SUPERFUND RESEARCH PROGRAM

Tribal-University Evaluation of Chemical Exposures

to Improve Community Health

2015

Community Engagement Core Leadership

The purpose of the Community Engagement Core (CEC) is

to evaluate chemical exposures that are a concern for Native

American Tribes. To accomplish this goal, the CEC works to

build scientific capacity in Tribal communities and cultural

capacity within the university research community. This

mission was developed by Dr Anna Harding based on her

expertise and partnership with Tribes in the Pacific

Northwest. Dr Harding is the founding director of the CEC

has served as its Director since 2009 but after 26 years of

service to Oregon State University, she has announced her

intention to retire. Dr Molly Kile, who has been a co-leader

in the CEC for the past four years, transitioned into the

directorship in November, 2015. To insure a smooth

leadership transition, Anna will continue to work with the

CEC until June 2016.

Trained as an environmental epidemiologist, Molly Kile is an

assistant professor in the College of Public Health and Human

Sciences at Oregon State University. She has a great deal of

experience in community engagement activities and working with

communities that are disproportionately impacted by

environmental contaminants. In addition to her engagement

activities with our tribal partners, she works with communities that

are impacted by arsenic-contaminated drinking water in the United

States and Bangladesh. As the new director, Molly is looking

forward to continuing the mission of the CEC and partner with

Tribal communities that experience environmental injustice.

Through these partnerships, the CEC seeks to translate knowledge

into effective and culturally appropriate risk reduction strategies

that will reduce exposure to environmental pollution and contribute

knowledge for self-protection and remediation.

Anna Harding (top), Molly Kile

(bottom)

2 PAH metabolism study

3 Tracing air pollution

4 Tribal collaborations

In this issue

PAHs: New Technologies and

Emerging Health Risks

The Oregon State University Superfund

Research Center (SRP) brings together a

multidisciplinary team to identify

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

(PAHs) in the environment, to

characterize their toxicity, and to

determine the potential for those

exposures to influence human health.

PAHs are re-emerging as an

environmental pollutant of concern.

PAHs are formed during the burning of

carbon-based materials, and are

commonly found at Superfund sites and

urban settings. This work is supported

by the Superfund Amendment and

Reauthorization Act of 1986 and is

funded by the National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences.

2 Tribal—University Partnership Current Projects

Background

Traditionally smoked salmon is a

staple and valued food for Native

American Tribes in the Pacific

Northwest. The meat is preserved by

cooking at 90 - 120°C for up to 36

hours over smoldering wood inside a

tipi or a smoke shed. In 2012, Tribal

partners expressed concern that this

process could increase polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the

preserved fish. A study was conducted

with the Department of Science and

Engineering (DOSE) at the

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla

Indian Reservation (CTUIR) that

showed that PAH levels in traditionally

smoked salmon were much higher

than PAH levels found in cold smoked

salmon (Forsberg et al. 2012). This led

Tribal members to question how PAHs

found in traditionally smoked salmon

are absorbed, processed, and

eliminated by the body.

The Project

Our tribal partners recruited 9 CTUIR

members to participate in a

metabolism study where they ate a

small portion of traditionally smoked

salmon and provided 5 urine samples

before and after this meal. Samples

were analyzed at Oregon State

University. Overall, 4 PAHs and 10 PAH

metabolites were detected in the

urine of participants after eating 50

grams of traditionally smoked salmon.

After 24 hours, the body excreted

almost all of the PAHs and returned to

baseline which reflected PAH levels

before the volunteers ate the smoked

salmon. These results underwent

scientific peer review and were

published in Science of the Total

Environment.

Reporting Results

All participants wanted to see their

results. Guided by best practices in

reporting research data, reports were

created that let each person see how

their PAH levels compared to the

group’s average (Figure 1). This

approach was needed because of the

uniqueness of the data—no one had

measured PAH levels in Tribal

members after eating smoked salmon

before—and to protect volunteer’s

privacy. Each report also contained

information that would help people

make choices that would reduce their

exposure to PAHs while still enjoying

the nutritional and cultural benefits

Traditionally Smoked Salmon Metabolism Study Reporting PAH biomonitoring results to participants

After Tribal volunteers ate a small

portion of traditionally smoked salmon,

the concentration of PAHs and their

metabolites rapidly increased in urine.

This shows that PAHs were absorbed by

the body. After 24 hours almost all PAH

levels returned to background levels

showing that they are quickly excreted.

People who were more hydrated

eliminated the PAHs more rapidly.

Eating fresh, frozen, canned, or air dried

salmon would reduce exposure to

PAHs. Since pregnant women and

children are more vulnerable to PAH

toxicity, they may want to limit the

amount of smoked salmon and enjoy it

prepared in these other ways.

Figure 1. This is an example of the data included in the participant’s reports. Each line in the figure represents the total amount of 4 PAHs that were not metabolized in the body and what those levels were at 5 different time points. The individual’s data is indicated by the orange line and the black lines represent the data from the other 8 participants.

The data shows that all participants had some PAHs in their urine prior to eating 50 grams of smoked salmon (baseline). PAH levels rose rapidly in the urine of all participants after eating the traditionally smoked salmon. While each person excreted PAHs at a different rates, everyone

associated with smoked salmon (below).

Forsberg et al. 2012. Effect of Native American fish smoking methods on dietary exposure to polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbons and possible risks to human

health. J Ag Food Chem. 60: 6899-6906.

Motorykin et al. 2015. Metabolism and excretion rates of

parent and hydroxyl-PAHs in urine collected after consumption of traditionally smoked salmon for Native

American volunteers. Sci. Tot. Environ. 514: 170-177.

had a similar pattern of excretion and almost all PAH levels returned to baseline after 24 hours. One reason people had different excretion rates was their hydration status which was measured using urinary creatinine.

3 EVALUATION OF CHEMICAL EXPOSURES TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY HEALTH

Background Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are

formed when organic material or fossil

fuels are burned. PAHs attach

themselves to very fine particulate

matter that can travel thousands of

miles in the air before falling to Earth.

By measuring PAHs, their degradation

products, and accounting for wind

speed and direction, sources of air

pollution can be identified, both

regionally and from across the Pacific

Ocean in Asia (Figure 2).

The Project Beginning in 2010, CTUIR partnered

with OSU SRP to evaluate the impacts

of regional airborne contamination to

their reservation. Working with the air

quality technician at DOSE, one high

volume air monitor was installed on

Cabbage Hill at CTUIR. For comparison,

a second monitor was placed in the

Mount Bachelor Observatory (Bend,

OR) (Figure 2). Tribal air quality staff

were trained to operate the monitors

and replaced filters in the air samplers

every 24 hours. Samples were collected

on 83 days over the one year study

period (2010—2011). The samples

were used to measure fine particulate

matter, organic and black carbon, 32

PAHs, and 37 PAH degradation products

(nitro-PAHs and oxy-PAHs).

By gathering this data , the researchers

hoped to identify the contribution of

trans-Pacific transport of pollution to

Oregon air quality. However, no such

events were identified at Cabbage Hill.

Instead, the researchers identified a

large regional source of PAHs, coming

from the nearby coal-fired power plant

located in Boardman, OR.

The data showed that the average

levels of PAH, nitro-PAH, and oxy-PAH

levels were higher when the power

plant was operating compared to when

it was offline. This suggested that the

power plant was a regional source of

PAHs. Interestingly, the levels of PAHs

dropped in spring of 2011 when the

power plant upgraded its air pollution

scrubbers to meet the Environmental

Protection Agency’s new mercury

emission standards. This upgrade had

the unexpected benefit of substantially

reducing PAH emissions measured at

Cabbage Hill by 72% and oxy-PAH

degradation byproducts by 40%.

Although no changes in fine particulate

matter, nitro-PAH, or organic carbon

were observed, the improvements to the

power plant improved air quality in the

region. This was reviewed by scientists

and published in Environmental Science

and Technology.

Lafontaine et al. 2015. Relative Influence of Trans-Pacific

and Regional Atmospheric Transport of PAHs in the

Pacific Northwest, U.S. Environ Sci Technol, 49(23):13807-

13816.

The Unexpected Benefit of a Mercury Scrubber on PAH Emissions Tracing the source of air pollution in the Pacific Northwest

Figure 2. Installing air monitor on Cabbage Hill (upper left ). Map showing the location of air

monitors at Cabbage Hill (CTUIR) and Mt Bachelor and their proximity to Boardman (upper

right). Illustration of tracking transport of air pollution from Asia to the Pacific Northwest

(bottom).

“Boardman was a major source of

PAH in the Columbia River Gorge,

and now it is not. That’s a good

thing ... for people living in the

Gorge”- Dr. Staci Simonich, Confederated Umatil-

la Journal, September 2015.

On December 2nd, the CEC and an

OSU Financial Aid advisor went to

the Confederated Tribes of Siletz

Indians and talked to students at

the Siletz Valley Early College

Academy. The trip was organized

by Greta Frey (CEC trainee), who is a member of the Confederated

Tribes of Siletz. She was joined by Mitra Geier, another SRP trainee.

The team answered questions regarding college applications, schol-

arships and research opportunities at Oregon State University. SRP

trainees were also able to share their own college experiences with

If you have any questions, please contact

Molly Kile, Assistant Professor Oregon State University

College of Public Health and Human Sciences 15 Milam Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331

Telephone: (541) 737-1443 Email: [email protected]

Visit our website to learn about projects supported by OSU’s Superfund Community Engagement Core:

http://superfund.oregonstate.edu/outreach

This project is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program grant P42 ESO16465

Confederated Tribes of Siletz Reaching out to the next generation of Tribal students

4

Core Personnel

Molly Kile, Sc.D., Core Leader

Oregon State University

Barbara Harper, Ph.D., Co-Leader


Anna Harding, Ph.D., Co-Leader


Jamie Donatuto, Ph.D., Community Liaison

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

Greta Frey, Superfund Trainee


Confederated Tribes of Siletz and Aleut Corporation

Diana Rohlman, Ph.D., Program Coordinator


Stuart Harris, B.S., Tribal Liaison

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

All studies referenced in this newsletter are available online

or by contacting Dr. Molly Kile.

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Upcoming research collaborations

The CEC will begin working on new projects with the Swinomish

Indian Tribal Community (La Conner, WA). These projects will focus

on monitoring air quality on the reservation which is in close

proximity to several oil refineries. Another project will use passive

sampling wristband technology to look at personal exposure to

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (see

photo) . To learn more about using

wristbands for personal exposure

monitoring , go to:

http://ehsc.oregonstate.edu/passive-wristband-samplers

Resources for Tribal Partnerships Tribal partnership resources online

Working with Tribal partners, OSU SRP Center has created an online

library of resources for conducting research with Tribal

communities. This includes a link to the Traditional Tribal

Subsistence Exposure Scenario and Risk Assessment Guidance

Manual. This document captures many unique Tribal exposure

scenarios that can be used in risk assessment calculations. To learn

more, go to:

http://superfund.oregonstate.edu/conducting-research-tribal-communities