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human ecology

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www.healthandenvironment.org

Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center

How does perchlorate affect the thyroid gland? The thyroid gland is an organ located in the neck (see picture). The thyroid makes thyroid hormones. These hormones affect how your body makes and burns energy, also known as your metabolism. Thyroid hormones are also important for healthy development of the fetus and young children.

Excerpt from results packet;

Imperial Valley Study

Excerpt from Imperial Valley Results Packet

You are in the medium concern category. Medium

concern means the levels of perchlorate, iodine,

thiocyanate, and nitrate that we found in your urine

are not likely to cause thyroid problems, but are

worth paying attention to.

12 leaders of national

learning and developmental

disabilities groups tested for

set of neurotoxicants.

Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center

Project Criteria

Biomonitor for those chemicals that:

1. Have an established baseline of exposure - NHANES

2. Have been strongly associated with health outcomes in peer-reviewed

studies;

3. May be replaced by a safer chemical or process;

4. Have been targeted by an NGO campaign, a community,

or regulatory agency as a chemical of concern.

Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center

Participants will have 3 questions:

“How high are my levels? Are they safe? What can I do about it?

Their understanding of chronic exposure to toxic chemicals is framed

by:

1. Community Context

2. Report-back process

Basic Protocol:

1. Recruitment

2. Consenting process

3. Sample collection; exposure questionnaire

4. Participant engagement

5. Results conveyance

6. Physician appointment

7. Community report back

Case study: Review of results conveyance protocols for an

indoor/outdoor air study conducted in two, very different, California

communities

Richmond, California

The two community study tested indoor indoor/outdoor air for 150 chemicals,

including phthalates, alkylphenols, parabens, PBDEs, PCBs, PAHs,

pesticides, and phenolic compounds

Bolinas, California

Community Engagement Protocol

Community meeting, organized by local community group, to

describe study, begin recruitment

Home visit #1 – consent form; explanation of study; air and dust

samples collected; participants interviewed about product use;

expectations; activism.

Participants offered results, which were then mailed, or hand

delivered.

Home visit #2 – Results report back. Questions

answered;exposure reduction measures offered.

Community meeting to discuss results, respond to questions

Home visit #3 – Follow-up interviews re experience in study

Monitoring Results

1. Indoor concentrations were higher than outdoor concentrations in

both communities, suggesting indoor sources of consumer product

chemicals predominate;

2. Few indoor concentration differences were observed between

Richmond and Bolinas, despite differences in demographics, and

housing, sources are ubiquitously common across socioeconomic

groups;

3. Outdoor concentrations of PAHs, some phthalates, octylphenol

were higher in Richmond. Also, higher particulate matter, cadmium,

nickel.

Semi volatile Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds in Paired Indoor and Outdoor Air in Two

Northern California Communities RUTHANN A. RUDEL, et al

Environ. Sci. Technol. 2010.44, 6583-6590

Community results: reactions in common

1. Initial distress at learning results, but final reaction was, “it’s better to know.”

2. Appreciation of suggestions for avoiding exposure;

3. Appreciation for home visits, and that results were presented in ways that made complicated results understandable. “Nice to know that researchers care about us.”

4. Acceptance that not everything is known. Science is incomplete and changing. Source of exposure is not always known.

5. Surprise that interior air concentrations were high and were similar between the two communities.

Bolinas: basic assumption is Bolinas is a haven, far from polluting industries.

Richmond: shelter in place safety policy; assumption is home is safe.

.

Action: Richmond – use of outdoor

results data to stop Chevron

refinery expansion

Action: Bolinas - personal choices

changed; several were interested in

engaging in NGO campaigns working

to ban specific toxic chemicals.

Conclusions: Movement from surprise to “sense-making”

Engaging with community through local, trusted community

organizations leveraged participants’ trust of researchers, data, and

testing process;

Inclusion of participants in planning and implementation throughout

study deepened participant understanding of results, scientific process.

Participants, whatever educational level, were able to understand

results involving large number of analytes, and to understand

complexity of connecting exposures to chemical mixtures to health

outcomes.

“Disentangling the Exposure Experience; The Roles of Community

Context and Report Back of Environmental Exposure Data."

Crystal Adams, Phil Brown, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Julia Green

Brody, Ruthann Rudel, Ami Zota, Sharyle Patton. Journal of

Health and Social Behavior 52(2) 180-196. 2011

“Individual and community report-back is essential when

researchers aim for democratic participation, community

capacity building, good science and effective advocacy.”

Sharyle Patton -Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center

Bolinas California www.commonweal.org

www.healthandenvironment.org

spatton@igc.org

Report back materials developed in collaboration with participants,

community NGO

Direct Measurement of Perchlorate Exposure Biomarkers in a Highly Exposed Population: A Pilot

Study. Paul English, Ben Blount., Michelle Wong, Lori Copan, Luis Olmedo, Sharyle Patton, Ryan

Atencio, Juhua Xu, Liza Valentin-Blasin PLoS One. March 2011/ Vol 6/Issue 3/

Report back protocols

1. Results packet mailed to each participant; mailing followed by one-on-one interviews to answer questions, assess understanding of materials.

2. After mailing, community meeting held to review results, to provide forum for questions, comparison of reactions, and to discuss use of data at the community level for advocacy purposes.

Note: report back materials, including results packet, and community presentation were developed in collaboration with community organization leaders and cohort participants.

Key elements

Key elements

Fire fighter study

Response to needs of ff

community

Contact info