A Native American exposure scenario

Exploring practices, challenges, and priorities for human health and ecological risk assessments in Indigenous communities in Canada

Indigenous peoples in Canada are disproportionately exposed to environmental contaminants and may face elevated health risks related to their unique cultural, spiritual, and economic relationships with the land, including the use of traditional food systems. However, to date, institutionalized approaches to assess risks to human and ecological health from contaminants have not been well developed or implemented with Indigenous community contexts in mind. There is regulatory interest in developing new approach methods for risk assessment, and thus an opportunity to increase their relevance to Indigenous communities in which they will be ultimately applied. Therefore, we conducted an anonymous mixed-methods survey of those involved with risk assessment in Indigenous communities in Canada to: (1) understand risk assessment practice in Indigenous communities, (2) explore challenges with conventional assessment methods and compare these across sectors, and (3) gather perspectives on the development of new approaches. In all, 38 completed survey responses were received (14% response rate). Respondents were from Indigenous community environment and health offices (21% of respondents), Indigenous governments (8%), federal and provincial governments (21%), and academia (45%). Risk communication was seen as the most challenging part of risk assessment (71% responded "difficult"), and nearly all respondents agreed that time (86%), cost (76%), and resource availability (86%) were "moderate" to "serious" problems. Few respondents (16%) had heard of "new approach methods" for risk assessment, and 76% of respondents (and 100% of community-based respondents) agreed on the need to develop improved risk assessment approaches. To modernize risk assessment, respondents recommended advancing cumulative risk assessment methods, improving risk communication, and promoting Indigenous leadership and Traditional Knowledge in assessment activities. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;00:1-16. © 2024 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Preterm Birth and Metal Mixture Exposure among Pregnant Women from the Navajo Birth Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Preterm birth (PTB), defined as birth before 37 wk gestation, is associated with hypertension, diabetes, inadequate prenatal care, unemployment or poverty, and metal exposure. Indigenous individuals are more likely to have maternal risk factors associated with PTB compared with other populations in the United States; however, the role of environmental metals on PTB among pregnant Indigenous women remains uncertain. Previous research identified associations between PTB and individual metals, but there is limited investigation on metal mixtures and this birth outcome.

OBJECTIVES

We used a mixtures analysis framework to investigate the association between metal mixtures and PTB among pregnant Indigenous women from the Navajo Birth Cohort Study (NBCS).

METHODS

Maternal urine and blood samples were collected at the time of study enrollment and analyzed for metals by inductively coupled plasma dynamic reaction cell mass spectrometry. Bayesian Profile Regression was used to identify subgroups (clusters) of individuals with similar patterns of coexposure and to model association with PTB.

RESULTS

Results indicated six subgroups of maternal participants with distinct exposure profiles, including one group with low exposure to all metals and one group with total arsenic, cadmium, lead, and uranium concentrations exceeding representative concentrations calculated from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Compared with the reference group (i.e., the lowest exposure subgroup), the subgroup with the highest overall exposure had a relative risk of PTB of 2.9 times (95% credible interval: 1.1, 6.1). Exposures in this subgroup were also higher overall than NHANES median values for women 14-45 years of age.

DISCUSSION

Given the wide range of exposures and elevated PTB risk for the most exposed subgroups in a relatively small study, follow-up investigation is recommended to evaluate associations between metal mixture profiles and other birth outcomes and to test hypothesized mechanisms of action for PTB and oxidative stress caused by environmental metals. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10361.

Exposure of Akwesasne Mohawk women to polychlorinated biphenyls and hexachlorobenzene is associated with increased serum levels of thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT) were reported to influence immunological activity. As endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC), these pollutants may disrupt normal thyroid function and act as catalysts for development of autoimmune thyroid disease by directly and indirectly affecting levels of thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAbs). Native American communities are disproportionately exposed to harmful toxicants and are at an increased risk of developing an autoimmune disease. The aim of this study was to determine the association between POPs and TPOAbs in serum obtained from Native American women. This assessment was used to measure whether increased risk of autoimmune thyroid disease occurred as a result of exposure to POPs. Data were collected from 183 Akwesasne Mohawk women, 21-38 years of age, between 2009 and 2013. Multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the association between toxicant exposure and levels of TPOAbs. In multiple logistic regression analyses, exposure to PCB congener 33 was related to elevated risk of individuals possessing above normal levels of TPOAbs. Further, HCB was associated with more than 2-fold higher risk of possessing above normal levels of TPOAbs compared to women with normal levels of TPOAbs. p,p'-DDE was not associated with TPOAb levels within this study. Exposure to PCB congener 33 and HCB was correlated with above normal levels of TPOAbs, a marker of autoimmune thyroid disease. Additional investigations are needed to establish the causes and factors surrounding autoimmune thyroid disease which are multiple and complex.

Long-term ecological research in freshwaters enabled by regional biodiversity collections, stable isotope analysis, and environmental informatics

Biodiversity collections are experiencing a renaissance fueled by the intersection of informatics, emerging technologies, and the extended use and interpretation of specimens and archived databases. In this article, we explore the potential for transformative research in ecology integrating biodiversity collections, stable isotope analysis (SIA), and environmental informatics. Like genomic DNA, SIA provides a common currency interpreted in the context of biogeochemical principles. Integration of SIA data across collections allows for evaluation of long-term ecological change at local to continental scales. Challenges including the analysis of sparse samples, a lack of information about baseline isotopic composition, and the effects of preservation remain, but none of these challenges is insurmountable. The proposed research framework interfaces with existing databases and observatories to provide benchmarks for retrospective studies and ecological forecasting. Collections and SIA add historical context to fundamental questions in freshwater ecological research, reference points for ecosystem monitoring, and a means of quantitative assessment for ecosystem restoration.

Sources of polychlorinated biphenyls to Upper Hudson River fish post-dredging

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals that are the dominant contaminant in the Upper Hudson River (UHR) in New York State where two General Electric (GE) plants historically discharged PCBs to the river. Portions of the UHR were dredged from 2009 to 2015 to address PCB contamination. In 2017, the first post-dredging survey of yearling feeder fish and sediment PCB contamination was conducted to establish a baseline for the recovery of the river. Prior analysis of the sediment data from the 2017 survey indicated that ∼2% of the PCBs in the surface sediment were higher in molecular weight than the formulation used by GE and therefore arose from non-GE sources. In this work, the fish PCB data from the 2017 survey were analyzed using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK) was used to estimate PCB concentrations in the sediment at the locations where fish were collected. The results suggest that PCBs that are the products of microbial dechlorination bioaccumulate in the fish and represent 7% of the PCB mass in the fish data set. Further, the results suggest that about 13% of the PCBs in the fish may have come from non-GE sources. This is higher than the percentage of non-GE PCBs in the sediment, but can be explained by the higher molecular weight of the non-GE mixture which causes it to bioaccumulate more effectively than GE PCBs. Concentrations of the non-GE PCBs averaged about 240 ppb wet weight (whole body) in yearling feeder fish. The remedial goals range from 50 to 400 ppb ww in fillet for fish including piscivorous species that are likely to have higher PCB concentrations than feeder fish.

Ecological information and approaches needed for risk communication dialogs for acute or chronic environmental crises

Scientists, social scientists, risk communicators, and many others are often thrust into a crisis situation where they need to interact with a range of stakeholders, including governmental personnel (tribal, U.S. federal, state, local), local residents, and other publics, as well as other scientists and other risk communicators in situations where information is incomplete and evolving. This paper provides: (1) an overall framework for thinking about communication during crises, from acute to chronic, and local to widespread, (2) a template for the types of ecological information needed to address public and environmental concerns, and (3) examples to illustrate how this information will aid risk communicators. The main goal is providing an approach to the knowledge needed by communicators to address the challenges of protecting ecological resources during an environmental crisis, or for an on-going, chronic environmental issue. To understand the risk to these ecological resources, it is important to identify the type of event, whether it is acute or chronic (or some combination of these), what receptors are at risk, and what stressors are involved (natural, biological, chemical, radiological). For ecological resources, the key information a communicator needs for a crisis is whether any of the following are present: threatened or endangered species, species of special concern, species groups of concern (e.g., neotropical bird migrants, breeding frogs in vernal ponds, rare plant assemblages), unique or rare habitats, species of commercial and recreational interest, and species/habitats of especial interest for medicinal, cultural, or religious activities. Communication among stakeholders is complicated with respect to risk to ecological receptors because of differences in trust, credibility, empathy, perceptions, world view valuation of the resources, and in many cases, a history of misinformation, disinformation, or no information. Exposure of salmon spawning in the Columbia River to hexavalent chromium from the Hanford Site is used as an example of communication challenges with different stakeholders, including Native Americans with Tribal Treaty rights to the land.

Trust and consequences: Role of community science, perceptions, values, and environmental justice in risk communication

Risk communication is often viewed as imparting information and perhaps as a two-way dialogue. Risk communication inadequacies on the part of both "communicator" and "community members" can lead to adverse consequences and amplify environmental justice disparities. The paper suggests a transformational approach where risk communicators must learn to trust community experts and their knowledge base (and act upon it), where risk information imparted by risk communicators addresses what communities are most concerned about (as well as risk from specific chemicals or radionuclides), and where risk information and assessments address underlying issues and disparities, as well as cultural traditions (among others). Providing risk probabilities is no longer sufficient; western science may not be enough, and community and native scientific knowledge is needed. Risk communication (or information transfer) for environmental risks that are ongoing usually applies to low-income, minority communities-people living in dense inner cities, rural communities, Native American communities-or to people living near a risky facility. Communication within this context requires mutual trust, listening and respect, as well as acceptance of indigenous and community knowledge as equally valuable. Examples are given to illustrate a community perspective.

Associations between autoimmune dysfunction and pollutants in Akwesasne Mohawk women: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and polychlorinated biphenyl exposure

BACKGROUND

Pollutant exposures, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), have been found to disrupt normal immune function. Native American communities are disproportionately affected by autoimmune dysfunction and are more likely to be exposed to harmful pollutants than the general population.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the association between autoimmune dysfunction and pollutant exposure levels, this study evaluates the statistical relationship between the presence of autoimmune dysfunction and pollutant exposure.

METHODS

Information was collected from Akwesasne Mohawk women (n = 182), 21-39 years of age, between 2009 and 2013. Data collection included anthropometric measurements, medical diagnoses of autoimmune disease and symptoms of autoimmune dysfunction in the medical record, and blood draws for measurement of pollutants. Multivariate analyses determined the association between toxicant exposure and autoimmune dysfunction.

RESULTS

Toxicant p,p'-DDE was positively associated with an almost two-fold risk of autoimmune dysfunction. p,p'-DDE and PCB congeners 32, 136, and 138 were positively associated in a multivariate analysis with an autoimmune diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Pollutant exposures, specifically to p,p'-DDE and some PCB congeners, are common exposures that are associated with autoimmune dysfunction and autoimmune disease, although there are other factors and causes related to autoimmune dysfunction incidence.

Industrialization and food safety for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation: An analysis of chemical levels in shellfish in Burrard Inlet

While Indigenous food systems remain critical for community well-being, traditionally harvested foods are a potential source of toxic exposures. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) is seeking to restore shellfish harvesting in Burrard Inlet (British Columbia [BC], Canada), where the cumulative effects of industrial activity have nearly eliminated safe harvesting. The Trans Mountain Expansion project would triple the capacity to transport oil through the inlet, threatening TWN's progress to restore shellfish harvesting. To inform ongoing efforts we assessed contamination by heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury) and 48 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) congeners in different shellfish species (Softshell clams, Varnish clams, and Dungeness crab) in three areas. We compared our results against local screening values (SVs) established by the TWN and BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, as well as provincial and national benchmarks. In total, we analyzed 18 composite samples of Softshell clams and Varnish clams (5 individuals per sample), as well as 17 individual crabs. We found chemical contamination in all species at all sites. PAHs were most frequently detected in Softshell clams, highest in the site closest to the pipeline terminus. Clams presented higher levels of contamination than crabs for PAHs, but not for heavy metals. For Softshell and Varnish clams, all heavy metals across study sites exceeded at least one of the population-specific SVs. Of the 14 PAHs detected, benzo(a)pyrene presented a median concentration in Softshell clams of 3.25 μ/kg, exceeding local SV for subsistence fisher. Our results call for further assessment of human health impacts related to food harvesting within Burrard Inlet and establishing a long-term coordinated program co-led by the TWN to monitor contamination and inform future harvesting programs. The study draws attention to the need to consider locally-relevant toxicity benchmarks, and include potential health impacts of food contamination in appraising development project proposals.

Impacts to Diné activities with the San Juan River after the Gold King Mine Spill

BACKGROUND

On August 5th, 2015, 3 million gallons of acid mine drainage was accidentally discharged from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado into Cement Creek which is a tributary to the Animas and San Juan Rivers. The government-initiated risk assessment only assessed a recreational scenario (i.e. hiker drinking from the river), failing to recognize the deep connection of the Diné (Navajo) with the San Juan River.

METHODS

Utilizing a mixed-methods approach we determined the impacts of the 2015 Gold King Mine Spill (GKMS or Spill) on Diné activities. We developed a questionnaire to collect pre- and post-GKMS Diné activity frequency and duration. Navajo Nation Community Health Representatives administered the questionnaire to 63 Diné adults and 27 children living in three Navajo communities along the River.

RESULTS

Through analysis of the focus group transcripts we identified 43 unique activities between the Diné and San Juan River. There were significant reductions in the total number, frequency, and duration of livelihood, dietary, recreational, cultural/spiritual and arts and craft activities. On average, Diné activities with the San Juan River following the GKMS decreased by 56.2%.

SIGNIFICANCE

The significant reduction in activities following the GKMS may lead to long-term trauma, impacting the ability of the Diné to pass down teachings to their children affecting future generations to come. The 43 distinct activities between the Diné and the San Juan River highlight the importance for scientists and disaster responders to consider cultural and spiritual impacts when responding to environmental disasters and conducting risk assessments among Indigenous communities.

Urinary Arsenic and Cadmium Associations with Findings from Cranial MRI in American Indians: Data from the Strong Heart Study

BACKGROUND

Arsenic and cadmium are known cardiovascular toxicants that pose disproportionate risk to rural communities where environmental exposures are high. American Indians have high vascular risk, which may be attributable in part to these exposures.

OBJECTIVE

We examined urine metal concentrations in association with magnetic resonance imaging findings of vascular brain injury or cerebral atrophy in adult American Indians.

METHODS

We measured arsenic and cadmium in American Indian participants from the Strong Heart Study (1989-1991) and evaluated these associations with later (2010-2013) measures of infarct, hemorrhage, white matter hyperintensity (WMH) grade, brain and hippocampal volume, and sulcal and ventricle atrophy using nested multivariate regression analyses.

RESULTS

Among participants with available data (N=687), the median urine arsenic:creatinine ratio was 7.54μg/g [interquartile range (IQR): 4.90-11.93] and the cadmium:creatinine ratio was 0.96μg/g (IQR: 0.61-1.51). Median time between metal measurement and brain imaging was 21 y (range: 18-25 y). Statistical models detected significant associations between arsenic and higher burden of WMH [grade increase=0.014 (95% CI: 0.000, 0.028) per 10% increase in arsenic]; and between cadmium and presence of lacunar infarcts [relative risk (RR)=1.024 (95% CI: 1.004, 1.045) per 10% increase in cadmium].

DISCUSSION

This population-based cohort of American Indian elders had measured values of urine arsenic and cadmium several times higher than previous population- and clinic-based studies in the United States and Mexico, and comparable values with European industrial workers. Our findings of associations for arsenic and cadmium exposures with vascular brain injury are consistent with established literature. Environmental toxicant accumulation is modifiable; public health policy may benefit from focusing on reductions in environmental metals. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6930.

Bi-Directional Learning: Identifying Contaminants on the Yurok Indian Reservation

The Yurok Tribe partnered with the University of California Davis (UC Davis) Superfund Research Program to identify and address contaminants in the Klamath watershed that may be impairing human and ecosystem health. We draw on a community-based participatory research approach that begins with community concerns, includes shared duties across the research process, and collaborative interpretation of results. A primary challenge facing University and Tribal researchers on this project is the complexity of the relationship(s) between the identity and concentrations of contaminants and the diversity of illnesses plaguing community members. The framework of bi-directional learning includes Yurok-led river sampling, Yurok traditional ecological knowledge, University lab analysis, and collaborative interpretation of results. Yurok staff and community members share their unique exposure pathways, their knowledge of the landscape, their past scientific studies, and the history of landscape management, and University researchers use both specific and broad scope chemical screening techniques to attempt to identify contaminants and their sources. Both university and tribal knowledge are crucial to understanding the relationship between human and environmental health. This paper examines University and Tribal researchers' shared learning, progress, and challenges at the end of the second year of a five-year Superfund Research Program (SRP) grant to identify and remediate toxins in the lower Klamath River watershed. Our water quality research is framed within a larger question of how to best build university-Tribal collaboration to address contamination and associated human health impacts.

Costs and Benefits of Delaying Remediation on Ecological Resources at Contaminated Sites

The USA and other nations have massive industrial, radiologic, and chemical legacy wastes on numerous sites, for example from the Cold War and industrial activities. Most of these sites will require remediation (cleanup of contaminants). Prioritization is essential to determine the order of cleanup, leaving some tasks for a later time. This paper examines the potential costs and benefits of delaying remediation on ecological resources on contaminated sites. Aspects to consider include those related to management and planning, source term and pathways, risks and resources, and external drivers (regulations and laws, stakeholders). The US Department of Energy was used as a case study to examine the effects of delaying remediation. The conceptual model and tables provided here can serve as guidance or checklists for site managers.

Consumption of Fish and Shrimp from Southeast Louisiana Poses No Unacceptable Lifetime Cancer Risks Attributable to High-Priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Following oil spills such as the Deepwater Horizon accident (DWH), contamination of seafood resources and possible increased health risks attributable to consumption of seafood in spill areas are major concerns. In this study, locally harvested finfish and shrimp were collected from research participants in southeast Louisiana and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are some of the most important chemicals of concern regarding oil-spill-contaminated seafood resources during and following oil spills. Some PAHs are considered carcinogens for risk assessment purposes, and currently, seven of these can be combined in lifetime cancer risk assessments using EPA approaches. Most PAHs were not detected in these samples (minimum detection limits ranged from 1.2 to 2.1 PPB) and of those that were detected, they were generally below 10 PPB. The pattern of detected PAHs suggested that the source of these chemicals in these seafood samples was not a result of direct contact with crude oil. Lifetime cancer risks were assessed using conservative assumptions and models in a probabilistic framework for the seven carcinogenic PAHs. Lifetime health risks modeled using this framework did not exceed a 1/10,000 cancer risk threshold. Conservative, health-protective deterministic estimates of the levels of concern for PAH chemical concentration and seafood intake rates were above the concentrations and intake rates modeled under this probabilistic framework. Taken together, consumption of finfish and shrimp harvested from southeast Louisiana following the DWH does not pose unacceptable lifetime cancer risks from these seven carcinogenic PAHs even for the heaviest possible consumers.

Edible wild plants growing in contaminated floodplains: implications for the issuance of tribal consumption advisories within the Grand Lake watershed of northeastern Oklahoma, USA

Metal releases from the Tri-State Mining District (TSMD) that is located in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma, have contaminated floodplain soils within the Neosho and Spring river watersheds of the Grand Lake watershed. Since the Oklahoma portion of the watershed lies within ten tribal jurisdictions, the potential accumulation of metals within plant species that are gathered and consumed by tribal members, as well as the resulting metal exposure risks to tribal human health, was a warranted concern for further investigation. Within this study, a total of 36 plant species that are commonly consumed by tribes were collected from floodplain areas that were previously demonstrated to have elevated soil metal concentrations relative to reference sites. A significant, positive correlation was shown for metal concentrations in plant tissues versus soil (n = 258; Cd: R = 0.72, p = 0.00; Pb: R = 0.52, p = 0.00; and Zn: R = 0.70, p = 0.00). Additionally, a significant difference in metal concentration distributions existed between reference and impacted plant samples (n = 210, p = 0.00 for all metals). These results proved that floodplain soils are a major contamination pathway for metal accumulation within plants, and the source of metal contamination is the result of mining releases from the TSMD. Metal accumulation within plants was found to vary according to specific metal and plant species. The lowest dietary exposure out of all plant organs sampled were associated with fruit, whereas the highest was associated with roots, stem/leaves, and low-lying leafy greens. Metals in plants were compared to weekly dietary intake limits established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Based on specific serving sizes established within this study for tribal children and adults, many plant species had sufficient concentrations to warrant tribal consumption restrictions within the floodplains of Elm Creek, Grand Lake, Lost Creek, Spring River, and Tar Creek. Importantly, these results highlighted the necessity for the issuance of plant consumption advisories for tribal communities in the watershed. A consumption restriction guide on the number of allowable servings of each species per week at specific streams was developed within this study for tribal children and adults. Results also demonstrated that soil metal concentrations do not need to be exceptionally elevated relative to reference sites in order for plants to accumulate sufficient metal concentrations to exceed dietary limits for one serving. Therefore, the exposure risk associated with the consumption of plants cannot be accurately predicted solely from metal concentrations within soils, but must be based on metal concentrations within specific plant tissues on a site-by-site basis. A weekly consumption scenario was created within this study in order to better understand the potential metal dietary exposures to child and adult tribal members who consume multiple servings of multiple plant species per day, as well as benthic invertebrates and fish from the watershed. These findings demonstrated that plants pose a greater consumption exposure risk for tribal members than benthic invertebrates or fish. Therefore, without the consideration of exposure risks associated with the consumption of plants within future human health risk assessments, tribal health risks will be severely underestimated.

Ancient water bottle use and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure among California Indians: a prehistoric health risk assessment

BACKGROUND

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the main toxic compounds in natural bitumen, a fossil material used by modern and ancient societies around the world. The adverse health effects of PAHs on modern humans are well established, but their health impacts on past populations are unclear. It has previously been suggested that a prehistoric health decline among the native people living on the California Channel Islands may have been related to PAH exposure. Here, we assess the potential health risks of PAH exposure from the use and manufacture of bitumen-coated water bottles by ancient California Indian societies.

METHODS

We replicated prehistoric bitumen-coated water bottles with traditional materials and techniques of California Indians, based on ethnographic and archaeological evidence. In order to estimate PAH exposure related to water bottle manufacture and use, we conducted controlled experiments to measure PAH contamination 1) in air during the manufacturing process and 2) in water and olive oil stored in a completed bottle for varying periods of time. Samples were analyzed with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for concentrations of the 16 PAHs identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as priority pollutants.

RESULTS

Eight PAHs were detected in concentrations of 1-10 μg/m³ in air during bottle production and 50-900 ng/L in water after 2 months of storage, ranging from two-ring (naphthalene and methylnaphthalene) to four-ring (fluoranthene) molecules. All 16 PAHs analyzed were detected in olive oil after 2 days (2 to 35 μg/kg), 2 weeks (3 to 66 μg/kg), and 2 months (5 to 140 μg/kg) of storage.

CONCLUSIONS

For ancient California Indians, water stored in bitumen-coated water bottles was not a significant source of PAH exposure, but production of such bottles could have resulted in harmful airborne PAH exposure.

An Ecological and Human Biomonitoring Investigation of Mercury Contamination at the Aamjiwnaang First Nation

The Aamjiwnaang First Nations community is located in Canada's 'Chemical Valley' situated in southwest Ontario near Sarnia. Mercury pollution in the region has been known since the 1940s but little is known about levels in the environment and area residents. The current study, using ecological and human exposure assessment methods, was conducted at the community's request to help fill these gaps. First, Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory and the U.S. Toxics Release Inventory were queried to investigate mercury releases from area facilities. In 2010, 700 pounds of mercury were emitted into the air, 25 pounds were released into water bodies, and 93 thousand pounds were disposed of on-site via underground injections or into landfills, and together these show continued releases into the region. Second, mercury levels were measured in stream sediment and nearby soil from sites at Aamjiwnaang (n = 4) and off Reserve (n = 19) in Canada and the U.S. during three seasons that spanned 2010-2011. Total mercury in sediment across all sites and sampling seasons ranged from 5.0 to 398.7 µg/kg, and in soils ranged from 1.2 to 696.2 µg/kg. Sediment and soil mercury levels at Aamjiwnaang were higher than the reference community, and Aamjiwnaang's Talfourd Creek site had the highest mercury levels. Third, a biomonitoring study was performed with 43 mother-child pairs. Hair (mean ± SD of all participants: 0.18 ± 0.16 µg/g) and blood (1.6 ± 2.0 µg/L) mercury levels did not differ between participants studied on- and off-Reserve, likely because of limited seafood intake (<1 serving/week). Urine mercury levels (0.5 ± 0.8 µg/L) were significantly higher (1.5-2.5 times) in mother-child pairs living on-Reserve versus those living off-Reserve. In general, the study links evidence of mercury sources, environmental fate, and human exposures, and in doing so it shows that mercury levels in ecological and human samples are similar to values found in other areas, though there are some trends and evidence of contamination at Aamjiwnaang that warrant attention.

Developing Responsive Indicators of Indigenous Community Health

How health is defined and assessed is a priority concern for Indigenous peoples due to considerable health risks faced from environmental impacts to homelands, and because what is “at risk” is often determined without their input or approval. Many health assessments by government agencies, industry, and researchers from outside the communities fail to include Indigenous definitions of health and omit basic methodological guidance on how to evaluate Indigenous health, thus compromising the quality and consistency of results. Native Coast Salish communities (Washington State, USA) developed and pilot-tested a set of Indigenous Health Indicators (IHI) that reflect non-physiological aspects of health (community connection, natural resources security, cultural use, education, self-determination, resilience) on a community scale, using constructed measures that allow for concerns and priorities to be clearly articulated without releasing proprietary knowledge. Based on initial results from pilot-tests of the IHI with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (Washington State, USA), we argue that incorporation of IHIs into health assessments will provide a more comprehensive understanding of Indigenous health concerns, and assist Indigenous peoples to control their own health evaluations.

Values-Based Measures of Impacts to Indigenous Health

Values-based indicators of risks to Indigenous health have the potential to improve the accuracy and quality of a wide range of decisions affecting Native lands and cultures. Current health impact assessment approaches often omit important health priorities rooted in the history, social structures, and cultural context of Indigenous communities. Insights and methods from the decision sciences can be used to develop more culturally appropriate and context-relevant health indicators that can articulate and track changes to important dimensions of Indigenous health. Identifying and addressing priority cultural, social, economic, and environmental contributors to the health of Indigenous communities will help to generate better project alternatives and foster more responsive choices.

Communicating Results of a Dietary Exposure Study Following Consumption of Traditionally Smoked Salmon

One expectation of community-based participatory research (CBPR) is participant access to study results. However, reporting experimental data produced by studies involving biological measurements in the absence of clinical relevance can be challenging to scientists and participants. We applied best practices in data sharing to report the results of a study designed to explore polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons absorption, metabolism, and excretion following consumption of traditionally smoked salmon by members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). A dietary exposure study was developed, in which nine Tribal members consumed 50 g of traditionally smoked salmon and provided repeated urine samples over 24 hours. During recruitment, participants requested access to their data following analysis. Disclosing data is an important element of CBPR and must be treated with the same rigor as that given to the data analysis. The field of data disclosure is relatively new, but when handled correctly can improve education within the community, reduce distrust, and enhance environmental health literacy. Using the results from this study, we suggest mechanisms for sharing data with a Tribal community.

Native Americans: Where in Environmental Justice Research?

While the last two decades have seen important theoretical, empirical, and policy advancements in environmental justice generally, much remains to be done regarding Native Americans. Unique political and cultural dynamics shape the study and pursuit of environmental justice (EJ) in Native American communities. This review summarizes Native American EJ issues based on a cross-disciplinary search of over 60 publications. In so doing, we discuss the unique nature of Native American EJ in terms of conducting research and working toward reducing the continuation of historical trauma associated with environmental ills, the types of strategies used in Native American EJ research, and issues of Native American climate justice. We conclude with discussion of remaining knowledge gaps and future research needs.

Evaluating Threats in Multinational Marine Ecosystems: A Coast Salish First Nations and Tribal Perspective

Despite the merit of managing natural resources on the scale of ecosystems, evaluating threats and managing risk in ecosystems that span multiple countries or jurisdictions can be challenging. This requires each government involved to consider actions in concert with actions being taken in other countries by co-managing entities. Multiple proposed fossil fuel-related and port development projects in the Salish Sea, a 16,925 km2 inland sea shared by Washington State (USA), British Columbia (Canada), and Indigenous Coast Salish governments, have the potential to increase marine vessel traffic and negatively impact natural resources. There is no legal mandate or management mechanism requiring a comprehensive review of the potential cumulative impacts of these development activities throughout the Salish Sea and across the international border. This project identifies ongoing and proposed energy-related development projects that will increase marine vessel traffic in the Salish Sea and evaluates the threats each project poses to natural resources important to the Coast Salish. While recognizing that Coast Salish traditions identify all species as important and connected, we used expert elicitation to identify 50 species upon which we could evaluate impact. These species were chosen because Coast Salish depend upon them heavily for harvest revenue or as a staple food source, they were particularly culturally or spiritually significant, or they were historically part of Coast Salish lifeways. We identified six development projects, each of which had three potential impacts (pressures) associated with increased marine vessel traffic: oil spill, vessel noise and vessel strike. Projects varied in their potential for localized impacts (pressures) including shoreline development, harbor oil spill, pipeline spill, coal dust accumulation and nearshore LNG explosion. Based on available published data, impact for each pressure/species interaction was rated as likely, possible or unlikely. Impacts are likely to occur in 23 to 28% of the possible pressure/species scenarios and are possible in another 15 to 28% additional pressure/species interactions. While it is not clear which impacts will be additive, synergistic, or potentially antagonistic, studies that manipulate multiple stressors in marine ecosystems suggest that threats associated with these six projects are likely to have an overall additive or even synergistic interaction and therefore impact species of major cultural importance to the Coast Salish, an important concept that would be lost by merely evaluating each project independently. Failure to address multiple impacts will affect the Coast Salish and the 7 million other people that also depend on this ecosystem. These findings show the value of evaluating multiple threats, and ultimately conducting risk assessments at the scale of ecosystems and highlight the serious need for managers of multinational ecosystems to actively collaborate on evaluating threats, assessing risk, and managing resources.

Heavy metals in fish from the Aleutians: interspecific and locational differences

The objectives of this study were to examine levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and selenium in edible tissue of seven species of marine fish collected from several Aleutian islands (in 2004) to determine: (1) interspecific differences, (2) locational differences (among Aleutian Islands), (3) size-related differences in any metal levels within a species, and (4) potential risk to the fish or to predators on the fish, including humans. We also compared metals levels to those of three other fish species previously examined in detail, as well as examining metals in the edible tissue of octopus (Octopus dofleini). Octopus did not have the highest levels of any metal. There were significant interspecific differences in all metal levels among the fish species, although the differences were less than an order of magnitude, except for arsenic (mean of 19,500 ppb in Flathead sole, Hippoglossoides elassodon). Significant intraisland variation occurred among the four sites on Amchitka, but there was not a consistent pattern. There were significant interisland differences for some metals and species. Mercury levels increased significantly with size for several species; lead increased significantly for only one fish species; and cadmium and selenium decreased significantly with size for halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis). The Alaskan Department of Health and Social Services supports unrestricted consumption of most Alaskan fish species for all people, including pregnant women. Most mean metal concentrations were well below the levels known to adversely affect the fish themselves, or predators that consume them (including humans), except for mercury in three fish species (mean levels just below 0.3 ppm), and arsenic in two fish species. However, even at low mercury levels, people who consume fish almost daily will exceed guideline values from the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Reducing health risk assigned to organic emissions from a chemical weapons incinerator

Organic emissions from a chemical weapons incinerator have been characterized with an improved set of analytical methods to reduce the human health risk assigned to operations of the facility. A gas chromatography/mass selective detection method with substantially reduced detection limits has been used in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared microscopy to improve the speciation of semi-volatile and non-volatile organics emitted from the incinerator. The reduced detection limits have allowed a significant reduction in the assumed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and aminobiphenyl (ABP) emission rates used as inputs to the human health risk assessment for the incinerator. A mean factor of 17 decrease in assigned human health risk is realized for six common local exposure scenarios as a result of the reduced PAH and ABP detection limits.

Selenium/mercury molar ratios in freshwater, marine, and commercial fish from the USA: variation, risk, and health management

Fish provide healthy protein as well as recreational and cultural benefits, but can also contain mercury (Hg), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other contaminants that have adverse effects on humans and other organisms, particularly developing fetuses. Recently, some authors have suggested that a molar excess of selenium (Se) [e.g., selenium/mercury (Se/Hg) molar ratio >1] confers protection from Hg toxicity derived from fish consumption. Herein, we review our studies of Hg and Se in freshwater, marine, and commercial fish (mainly marine), examining the following: (1) whether and how Se/Hg molar ratios vary among species; (2) whether and how the molar ratios vary within species; (3) whether the molar ratios differ between freshwater and saltwater fish; (4) whether mean molar ratio values provide a reliable indication of potential risk to fish consumers; and (5) whether mean Se/Hg molar ratios are sufficiently constant (e.g., low variation) to allow for use in risk assessment, risk management, or risk communication. In saltwater fish, mean Se/Hg molar ratios varied from 0.3 in mako shark to 68.1 in whiting. For freshwater fish, the mean ratios varied from 0.68 in bowfin to 20.8 in black crappie. Commercial seafood (mainly saltwater) showed great variation in ratios; shrimp and scallops had very high ratios. There was somewhat less variability in the ratios for freshwater fish compared with the fish from saltwater, but there was no overall predictable difference in variation in Se/Hg molar ratios. For both saltwater and freshwater fish, some species with mean molar ratios above 1 had a significant proportion of individual fish with molar ratios below 1. Overall, this indicates great variation in measures of central tendencies and in measures of dispersion. We suggest that relying on the Se/Hg molar ratio as a method of predicting reduced risk from Hg toxicity is problematic because of the great variation among and within fish species, and the variation is not predictable because Hg varies by season, size of the fish, and location of the fish (which is not available for commercial fish). With the high variation in ratios, and low predictability, the ratios are currently not useful for risk assessment and risk management, and vulnerable individuals cannot rely on mean Se/Hg molar ratios for protection from Hg toxicity.

Frequency and rates of outdoor activities, and perceptions of places to perform these activities by Native Americans and Caucasians interviewed in Tennessee

Activity patterns and perceptions play a key role in human health risk, management, and planning. A sample of 233 people attending a Native American festival in Cookeville, Tennessee was interviewed to determine the types, percent participation, and outdoor activities rates, and their perceptions of the importance of characteristics of nuclear sites. Results indicate that: (1) a high percentage of respondents used outdoor environments, (2) they used them for consumptive (hunting, fishing), non-consumptive (hiking, walking, bird-watching), and religious/sacred activities, (3) a higher percentage of respondents engaged in non-consumptive than consumptive activities, (4) praying or meditating, communing with nature, and bird-watching had the highest uses rates (5) the environmental characteristics rated the highest were lack of radionuclides that presented a health risk, no visible smog, clean air, and unpolluted water, (6) the presence of people, buildings and roads were rated the lowest, and (7) Native Americans had higher outdoor participation rates, participated more frequently, and evaluated environmental characteristics higher than did Caucasians. This information can be used by managers to create and maintain outdoor habitats that fit the needs of local people. Planning and management require information on public policy, human needs and requirements, and human perceptions and evaluations of environmental characteristics.

Effect of Native American fish smoking methods on dietary exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and possible risks to human health

Although it is known that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be found in smoked meats, little is known about their prevalence in Native American smoked fish. In this work, the effect of traditional Native American fish smoking methods on dietary exposure to PAHs and possible risks to human health has been assessed. Smoking methods considered smoking structure (tipi or shed) and wood type (apple or alder). Neither smoking structure nor wood type accounted for differences in smoked salmon content of 33 PAHs. Carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic PAH loads in traditionally smoked salmon were 40-430 times higher than those measured in commercial products. Dietary exposure to PAHs could result in excess lifetime cancer risks between 1 × 10(-5) and 1 × 10(-4) at a daily consumption rate of 5 g d(-1) and could approach 1 × 10(-2) at 300 g d(-1). Hazard indexes approached 0.005 at 5 g d(-1), or approximately 0.3 at 300 g d(-1). Levels of PAHs present in smoked salmon prepared using traditional Native American methods may pose elevated cancer risks if consumed at high consumption rates over many years.

Subsistence Exposure Scenarios for Tribal Applications

The article provides an overview of methods that can be used to develop exposure scenarios for unique tribal natural resource usage patterns. Exposure scenarios are used to evaluate the degree of environmental contact experienced by people with different patterns of lifestyle activities, such as residence, recreation, or work. in 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton's Executive Order 12898 recognized that disproportionately high exposures could be incurred by people with traditional subsistence lifestyles because of their more intensive contact with natural resources. Since then, we have developed several tribal exposure scenarios that reflect tribal-specific traditional lifeways. These scenarios are not necessarily intended to capture contemporary resource patterns, but to describe how the resources were used before contamination or degradation, and will be used once again in fully traditional ways after cleanup and restoration. The direct exposure factors for inhalation and soil ingestion rates are the same in each tribal scenario, but the diets are unique to each tribe and its local ecology, natural foods, and traditional practices. Scenarios, in part or in whole, also have other applications, such as developing environmental standards, evaluating disproportionate exposures, developing sampling plans, planning for climate change, or evaluating service flows as part of natural resource damage assessments.

Overweight and obesity among North American Indian infants, children, and youth

The frequency of overweight and obesity among North American Indian children and youth exceeds that of other ethnic groups in the United States. This observation is based on studies using body mass index as the primary measure of overweight and obesity. In the mid-20th century, there were regional differences among North American Indian groups in sub-adults' size and shape and only a few Southwestern groups were characterized by high rates of overweight and obesity. In most populations, the high prevalence of overweight and obesity developed in the last decades of the 20th century. Childhood obesity may begin early in life as many studies report higher birth weights and greater weight-for-height in the preschool years. Contributing factors include higher maternal weights, a nutritional transition from locally caught or raised foods to store bought items, psychosocial stress associated with threats to cultural identity and national sovereignty, and exposure to obesogenic pollutants, all associated to some degree with poverty. Obesity is part of the profile of poor health among Native Americans in the US and Canada, and contributes to woefully high rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and early mortality. Interventions that are culturally appropriate are needed to reduce weights at all points in the lifespan.

Conceptual environmental justice model for evaluating chemical pathways of exposure in low-income, minority, native American, and other unique exposure populations

Risk assessment determines pathways, and exposures that lead to poor health. For exposures that fall disproportionately on urban low-income communities, minorities, and Native Americans, these pathways are often more common than in the general population. Although risk assessors often evaluate these pathways on an ad hoc basis, a more formal way of addressing these nonstandard pathways is needed to adequately inform public health policy. A conceptual model is presented for evaluating nonstandard, unique, or excessive exposures, particularly for environmental justice communities that have an exposure matrix of inhalation, dermal, ingestion, and injection. Risk assessment can be improved by including nonstandard and unique exposure pathways as described in this conceptual model.

A multidisciplinary approach to promoting healthy subsistence fish consumption in culturally distinct communities

Methyl mercury is a potent neurotoxin that causes developmental delays in young and unborn children and has been linked to neurological and cardiovascular degeneration in adults. Methyl mercury is the basis of a state-sponsored fish advisory to limit consumption of local fish in North Carolina. This study employed methods and analytic constructs from the behavioral and social sciences to assess the determinants of subsistence fishing and to promote informed fish consumption among culturally distinct and lower income subsistence fishers in southeastern North Carolina. Formative research revealed that Native American and African American were more likely than Latino residents to know of the fish advisory, and to practice procurement and preparation strategies that are mistakenly believed to render locally caught fish safe for consumption. Fish advisories were developed for each community to promote informed fish consumption intentions among residents who consume local fish. The interventions were successful in increasing knowledge and healthy intentions among most residents. Adherence to some safe fish consumption practices were constrained by cultural and economic factors. These results demonstrate the utility of multidisciplinary approaches for assessing and reducing human exposure to methyl mercury through subsistence fish consumption.

Disproportionate exposures in environmental justice and other populations: the importance of outliers

We examined traditional environmental justice populations and other groups whose exposure to contaminants is often disproportionately high. Risk assessment methods may not identify these populations, particularly if they are spatially dispersed. We suggest using a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey approach to oversample minority communities and develop methods for assessing exposure at different distances from pollution sources; publishing arithmetic and geometric means and full distributions for minority populations; and paying particular attention to high-end exposures. Means may sufficiently characterize populations as a whole but are inadequate in identifying vulnerable groups and subgroups. The number of individuals above the 95th percentile of any distribution may be small and unrepresentative, but these outliers are the ones who need to be protected.

Valuation of environmental quality and eco-cultural attributes in Northwestern Idaho: Native Americans are more concerned than Caucasians

Valuation of features of habitats and ecosystems usually encompasses the goods and services that ecosystems provide, but rarely also examine how people value ecological resources in terms of eco-cultural and sacred activities. The social, sacred, and cultural aspects of ecosystems are particularly important to Native Americans, but western science has rarely examined the importance of eco-cultural attributes quantitatively. In this paper I explore differences in ecosystem evaluations, and compare the perceptions and evaluations of places people go for consumptive and non-consumptive resource use with evaluations of the same qualities for religious and sacred places. Qualities of ecosystems included goods (abundant fish and crabs, butterflies and flowers, clean water), services (complexity of nature, lack of radionuclides that present a health risk), and eco-cultural attributes (appears unspoiled, scenic horizons, noise-free). Native Americans and Caucasians were interviewed at a Pow Wow at Post Falls, Idaho, which is in the region with the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, known for its storage of radioactive wastes and contamination. A higher percentage of Native American subjects engaged in consumptive and religious activities than did Caucasians. Native Americans engaged in higher rates of many activities than did Caucasians, including commune with nature, pray or meditate, fish or hunt, collect herbs, and conduct vision quests or other ceremonies. For nearly all attributes, there was no difference in the relative ratings given by Native Americans for characteristics of sites used for consumption/non-consumptive activities compared to religious/sacred places. However, Caucasians rated nearly all attributes lower for religious/sacred places than they did for places where they engaged in consumptive or non-consumptive activities. Native Americans were less concerned with distance from home for consumptive/non-consumptive activities, compared to religious activities.

Organochlorine and metal contaminants in traditional foods from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Marine mammals (bowhead whale, walrus, and various seals) constitute the major component of the diet of the Yupik people of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. St. Lawrence Island residents have higher serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) than in the general U.S. population. In order to determine potential sources, traditional food samples were collected from 2004 to 2009 and analyzed for PCBs, three chlorinated pesticides, and seven heavy metals (mercury, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, and lead). Concentrations of PCB in rendered oils (193-421 ppb) and blubber (73-317 ppb) from all marine mammal samples were at levels that trigger advisories for severely restricted consumption, using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fish consumption advisories. Concentrations of pesticides were lower, but were still elevated. The highest PCB concentrations were found in polar bear (445 ppb) and the lowest in reindeer adipose tissue (2 ppb). Marine mammal and polar bear meat in general have PCB concentrations that were 1-5% of those in rendered oils or adipose tissue. PCB concentrations in organs were higher than meat. Concentrations of metals in oils and meats from all species were relatively low, but increased levels of mercury, cadmium, copper, and zinc were present in some liver and kidney samples. Mercury and arsenic were found in lipid-rich samples, indicating organometals. These results show that the source of the elevated concentrations of these contaminants in the Yupik population is primarily from consumption of marine mammal blubber and rendered oils.

Development of a computer-assisted personal interview software system for collection of tribal fish consumption data

The authors developed a computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) seafood consumption survey tool from existing Pacific NW Native American seafood consumption survey methodology. The software runs on readily available hardware and software, and is easily configured for different cultures and seafood resources. The CAPI is used with a booklet of harvest location maps and species and portion size images. The use of a CAPI facilitates tribal administration of seafood consumption surveys, allowing cost-effective collection of scientifically defensible data and tribal management of data and data interpretation. Use of tribal interviewers reduces potential bias and discomfort that may be associated with nontribal interviewers. The CAPI contains a 24-hour recall and food frequency questionnaire, and assesses seasonal seafood consumption and temporal changes in consumption. EPA's methodology for developing ambient water quality criteria for tribes assigns a high priority to local data. The CAPI will satisfy this guidance objective. Survey results will support development of tribal water quality standards on their lands and assessment of seafood consumption-related contaminant risks and nutritional benefits. CAPI advantages over paper surveys include complex question branching without raising respondent burden, more complete interviews due to answer error and range checking, data transcription error elimination, printing and mailing cost elimination, and improved data storage. The survey instrument was pilot tested among the Quinault Nation in 2006.

Regulatory requirements and tools for environmental assessment of hazardous wastes: understanding tribal and stakeholder concerns using Department of Energy sites

Many US governmental and Tribal Nation agencies, as well as state and local entities, deal with hazardous wastes within regulatory frameworks that require specific environmental assessments. In this paper we use Department of Energy (DOE) sites as examples to examine the relationship between regulatory requirements and environmental assessments for hazardous waste sites and give special attention to how assessment tools differ. We consider federal laws associated with environmental protection include the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), as well as regulations promulgated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Tribal Nations and state agencies. These regulatory regimes require different types of environmental assessments and remedial investigations, dose assessments and contaminant pathways. The DOE case studies illustrate the following points: 1) there is often understandable confusion about what regulatory requirements apply to the site resources, and what environmental assessments are required by each, 2) the messages sent on site safety issued by different regulatory agencies are sometimes contradictory or confusing (e.g. Oak Ridge Reservation), 3) the regulatory frameworks being used to examine the same question can be different, leading to different conclusions (e.g. Brookhaven National Laboratory), 4) computer models used in support of groundwater models or risk assessments are not necessarily successful in convincing Native Americans and others that there is no possibility of risk from contaminants (e.g. Amchitka Island), 5) when given the opportunity to choose between relying on a screening risk assessments or waiting for a full site-specific analysis of contaminants in biota, the screening risk assessment option is rarely selected (e.g. Amchitka, Hanford Site), and finally, 6) there needs to be agreement on whether there has been adequate characterization to support the risk assessment (e.g. Hanford). The assessments need to be transparent and to accommodate different opinions about the relationship between characterizations and risk assessments. This paper illustrates how many of the problems at DOE sites, and potentially at other sites in the U.S. and elsewhere, derive from a lack of either understanding of, or consensus about, the regulatory process, including the timing and types of required characterizations and data in support of site characterizations and risk assessments.

Ecological information needs for environmental justice

The concept that all peoples should have their voices heard on matters that affect their well-being is at the core of environmental justice (EJ). The inability of some people of small towns, rural areas, minority, and low-income communities, to become involved in environmental decisions is sometimes due to a lack of information. We provide a template for the ecological information that is essential to examine environmental risks to EJ populations within average communities, using case studies from South Carolina (Savannah River, a DOE site with minority impacts), Washington (Hanford, a DOE site with Native American impacts), and New Jersey (nonpoint, urbanized community pollution). While the basic ecological and public health information needs for risk evaluations and assessments are well described, less attention has been focused on standardizing information about EJ communities or EJ populations within larger communities. We suggest that information needed about EJ communities and populations includes demographics, consumptive and nonconsumptive uses of their regional environment (for example, maintenance and cosmetic, medicinal/religious/cultural uses), eco-dependency webs, and eco-cultural attributes. A purely demographics approach might not even identify EJ populations or neighborhoods, much less their spatial relation to the impact source or to each other. Using information from three case studies, we illustrate that some information is readily available (e.g., consumption rates for standard items such as fish), but there is less information about medicinal, cultural, religious, eco-cultural dependency webs, and eco-cultural attributes, all of which depend in some way on intact, functioning, and healthy ecosystems.

Mass balance soil ingestion estimating methods and their application to inhabitants of rural and wilderness areas: a critical review

Quantitative soil ingestion studies employing a mass balance tracer approach have been used to provide a defensible means to estimate soil ingestion for human health risk assessments. Past studies have focused on soil ingestion in populations living in urban/suburban environments. There is a paucity of reliable quantitative soil ingestion data to support human health risk assessments of other lifestyles that may be predisposed to ingesting soil, such as agricultural workers or indigenous populations following traditional lifestyles. The results of a preliminary analysis of sampling and analytical variability that would result from assessing activities typical of populations in rural or wilderness areas and conducted over wide areas show that approximately 225 subject days would be required to detect a difference of 20mg/d in soil ingestion. Given the typically small populations in these areas, future soil ingestion studies should be focused on specific activities with a high potential for soil ingestion.

Radiological risk from consuming fish and wildlife to Native Americans on the Hanford Site (USA)

Historical operations at the Hanford Site (Washington State, USA) have released a wide array of non-radionuclide and radionuclide contaminants into the environment. As a result of stakeholder concerns, Native American exposure scenarios have been integrated into Hanford risk assessments. Because its contribution to radiological risk to Native Americans is culturally and geographically specific but quantitatively uncertain, a fish and wildlife ingestion pathway was examined in this study. Adult consumption rates were derived from 20 Native American scenarios (based on 12 studies) at Hanford, and tissue concentrations of key radionuclides in fish, game birds, and game mammals were compiled from the Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) database for a recent time interval (1995-2007) during the post-operational period. It was assumed that skeletal muscle comprised 90% of intake, while other tissues accounted for the remainder. Acknowledging data gaps, median concentrations of eight radionuclides (i.e., Co-60, Cs-137, Sr-90, Tc-99, U-234, U-238, Pu-238, and Pu-239/240) in skeletal muscle and other tissues were below 0.01 and 1 pCi/g wet wt, respectively. These radionuclide concentrations were not significantly different (Bonferroni P>0.05) on and off the Hanford Site. Despite no observed difference between onsite and offsite tissue concentrations, radiation dose and risk were calculated for the fish and wildlife ingestion pathway using onsite data. With median consumption rates and radionuclide tissue concentrations, skeletal muscle provided 42% of the dose, while other tissues (primarily bone and carcass) accounted for 58%. In terms of biota, fish ingestion was the largest contributor to dose (64%). Among radionuclides, Sr-90 was dominant, accounting for 47% of the dose. At median intake and radionuclide levels, estimated annual dose (0.36 mrem/yr) was below a dose limit of 15 mrem/yr recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), as well as below a dose limit of 100 mrem/yr proposed by the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP). Similarly, lifetime cancer risk (1.7E-5), calculated with median inputs, was below risk levels corresponding to these dose limits. However, our dose and risk estimates apply to only one pathway within a multidimensional exposure scenario for Native Americans. On the other hand, radiation dose and risk corresponding to onsite tissue concentrations were not significantly different from those corresponding to offsite (background) concentrations. Recognizing uncertainties in exposure and toxicity assessments, our results may facilitate informed decision making and optimize resource allocation within a risk assessment framework at the Hanford Site.

Risk to consumers from mercury in bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) from New Jersey: Size, season and geographical effects

Relatively little attention has been devoted to the risks from mercury in saltwater fish, that were caught by recreational fisherfolk. Although the US Food and Drug Administration has issued advisories based on mercury for four saltwater species or groups of fish, there are few data on how mercury levels vary by size, season, or location. This paper examines total mercury levels in muscle of bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) collected from coastal New Jersey, mainly by recreational fishermen. Of primary interest was whether there were differences in mercury levels as a function of location, weight and length of the fish, and season, and in what risk mercury posed to the food chain, including people. Selenium was also measured because of its reported protective effects against mercury. Mercury levels averaged 0.35+/-0.02 (mean and standard error)ppm, and selenium levels averaged 0.37+/-0.01ppm (N=206). In this study, 41% of the fish had mercury levels above 0.3ppm, 20% had levels above 0.5ppm, and 4% had levels above 1ppm. Size was highly correlated with mercury levels, but not with selenium. While selenium levels did not vary at all with season, mercury levels decreased significantly. This relationship was not due to differences in the size of fish, since the fish collected in the summer were the smallest, but had intermediate mercury levels. Mercury levels declined from early June until November, particularly for the smaller-sized fish. While there were significant locational differences in mercury levels (but not selenium), these differences could be a result of size. The levels of mercury in bluefish are not sufficiently high to cause problems for the bluefish themselves, based on known adverse health effects levels, but are high enough to cause potential adverse health effects in sensitive birds and mammals that eat them, and to provide a potential health risk to humans who consume them. Fish larger than 50cm fork length averaged levels above 0.3ppm, suggesting that eating them should be avoided by pregnant women, children, and others who are at risk.

Methylmercury risk and awareness among American Indian women of childbearing age living on an inland northwest reservation

American Indian women and children may be the most overrepresented among the list of disparate populations exposed to methylmercury. American Indian people fish on home reservations where a state or tribal fishing license (a source of advisory messaging) is not required. The purpose of this study was to examine fish consumption, advisory awareness, and risk communication preferences among American Indian women of childbearing age living on an inland Northwest reservation. For this cross-sectional descriptive study, participants (N=65) attending a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic were surveyed between March and June 2006. An electronic questionnaire adapted from Anderson et al. (2004) was evaluated for cultural acceptability and appropriateness by tribal consultants. Regarding fish consumption, approximately half of the women surveyed (49%) indicated eating locally caught fish with the majority signifying they consumed medium- and large-size fish (75%) that could result in exposure to methylmercury. In addition, a serendipitous discovery indicated that an unanticipated route of exposure may be fish provided from a local food bank resulting from sportsman's donations. The majority of women (80%) were unaware of tribal or state fish advisory messages; the most favorable risk communication preference was information coming from doctors or healthcare providers (78%). Since the population consumes fish and has access to locally caught potentially contaminated fish, a biomonitoring study to determine actual exposure is warranted.

Maternal arsenic exposure and impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy

BACKGROUND

Accumulating evidence has shown an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in general populations exposed to arsenic, but little is known about exposures during pregnancy and the association with gestational diabetes (GD).

OBJECTIVES

We studied 532 women living proximate to the Tar Creek Superfund Site to investigate whether arsenic exposure is associated with impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy.

METHODS

Blood glucose was measured between 24 and 28 weeks gestation after a 1-hr oral glucose tolerance test (GTT) as part of routine prenatal care. Blood and hair were collected at delivery and analyzed for arsenic using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with dynamic reaction cell.

RESULTS

Arsenic concentrations ranged from 0.2 to 24.1 microg/L (ppb) (mean +/- SD, 1.7 +/-1.5) and 1.1 to 724.4 ng/g (ppb) (mean +/- SD, 27.4 +/- 61.6) in blood and hair, respectively. One-hour glucose levels ranged from 40 to 284 mg/dL (mean +/- SD, 108.7 +/- 29.5); impaired glucose tolerance was observed in 11.9% of women when using standard screening criterion (> 140 mg/dL). Adjusting for age, Native-American race, prepregnancy body mass index, Medicaid use, and marital status, women in the highest quartile of blood arsenic exposure had 2.8 higher odds of impaired GTT than women in the lowest quartile of exposure (95% confidence interval, 1.1-6.9) (p-trend = 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

Among this population of pregnant women, arsenic exposure was associated with increased risk of impaired GTT at 24-28 weeks gestation and therefore may be associated with increased risk of GD.

Compensating aboriginal cultural losses: an alternative approach to assessing environmental damages

We first identify six primary problems with conventional practice: lack of context, inadequate participation from aboriginal communities, exclusion of important losses, reliance on market-based measures, neglect of uncertainty, and inadequate treatment of time. We then propose a different approach to compensation, based on insights from the decision sciences and structured decision making. Using case-study examples, we discuss how the proposed approach might address common sources of cultural loss and, in a concluding section, summarize some of the implications for compensation agreements and for environmental management practices.

Collaboration versus communication: The Department of Energy's Amchitka Island and the Aleut Community

Increasingly managers and scientists are recognizing that solving environmental problems requires the inclusion of a wide range of disciplines, governmental agencies, Native American tribes, and other stakeholders. Usually such inclusion involves communication at the problem-formulation phase, and at the end to report findings. This paper examines participatory research, the differences between the traditional stakeholder involvement method of communication (often one-way, at the beginning and the end), compared to full collaboration, where parties are actively involved in the scientific process. Using the Department of Energy's (DOE) Amchitka Island in the Aleutians as a case study, we demonstrate that the inclusion of Aleut people throughout the process resulted in science that was relevant not only to the agency's needs and to the interested and affected parties, but that led to a solution. Amchitka Island was the site of three underground nuclear tests from 1965 to 1971, and virtually no testing of radionuclide levels in biota, subsistence foods, or commercial fish was conducted after the 1970s. When DOE announced plans to close Amchitka, terminating its managerial responsibility, without any further testing of radionuclide levels in biota, there was considerable controversy, which resulted in the development of a Science Plan to assess the potential risks to the marine environment from the tests. The Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP) was the principle entity that developed and executed the science plan. Unlike traditional science, CRESP embarked on a process to include the Alaskan Natives of the Aleutian Islands (Aleuts), relevant state and federal agencies, and other stakeholders at every phase. Aleuts were included in the problem-formulation, research design refinement, the research, analysis of data, dissemination of research findings, and public communication. This led to agreement with the results, and to developing a path forward (production of a biomonitoring plan designed to provide early warning of any future radionuclide leakage and ecosystem/human health risks). The process outlined was successful in resolving a previously contentious situation by inclusion and collaboration with the Aleuts, among others, and could be usefully applied elsewhere to complex environmental problems where severe data gaps exist.

Perceptions of the risks and benefits of fish consumption: individual choices to reduce risk and increase health benefits

Studies of fish consumption often focus on awareness of and adherence to advisories, how much fish people eat, and contaminant levels in those fish. This paper examines knowledge and accuracy of risks and benefits of fish consumption among fishers and other recreationists in the New York Bight, indicative of whether they could make sound dietary decisions. While most respondents knew about health risks (70%) and benefits (94%) of consuming fish, far fewer could name specific risks and benefits. Less than 25% of respondents mentioned mercury and less than 15% mentioned that pregnant women and children were at risk. Far fewer people mentioned polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Nearly 70% said it was healthy to eat fish, and 45% were aware that fish were rich in healthful oils. Despite the lack of details about what specific risks and benefits of fish, well over a third did not feel they needed more information. Other respondents had basic questions, but did not pose specific questions about the fish they caught or ate that would have clarified their individual risk-balancing decisions. Knowledge of which fish were high in contaminants did not match the mercury or PCB levels in those fish. There was a disconnect between the information base about specific risks and benefits of fish consumption, levels of mercury and PCBs in fish, and the respondent's desire for more information. These data indicate that respondents did not have enough accurate information about contaminants in fish to make informed risk-balancing decisions.

Factors affecting mercury and selenium levels in New Jersey flatfish: low risk to human consumers

Some fish contain high levels of mercury (Hg), which could pose a risk to fish eaters themselves or their children. In making decisions about fish consumption, people must decide whether to eat fish, how much to eat, what species to eat, and what size fish to eat, as well as suitable (or unsuitable) locations, among other factors. Yet to make sound decisions, people need to know the levels of Hg in fish as a function of species, size, and location of capture. Levels of Hg and selenium (Se) were examined in three species of flatfish (fluke or summer flounder [Paralichthys dentatus], winter flounder [Pseudopleuronectes americanus], and windowpane [Scophthalmus aquosus]) from New Jersey as a function of species, fish size, season, and location. Flatfish were postulated to have low levels of Hg because they are low on the food chain and are bottom feeders, and data were generated to provide individuals with information on a species that might be safe to eat regularly. Although there were interspecific differences in Hg levels in the 3 species, total Hg levels averaged 0.18, 0.14, and 0.06 ppm (microg/g, wet weigh) in windowpane, fluke, and winter flounder, and selenium levels averaged 0.36, 0.35, and 0.25 ppm, respectively. For windowpane, 15% had Hg levels above 0.3 ppm, but no individual fish had Hg levels over 0.5 ppm. There were no significant seasonal differences in Hg levels, although Se was significantly higher in fluke in summer compared to spring. There were few geographical differences among New Jersey locations. Correlations between Hg and Se levels were low. Data, based on 464 fish samples, indicate that Hg levels are below various advisory levels and pose little risk to typical New Jersey fish consumers. A 70-kg person eating 1 meal (8 oz or 227 g) per week would not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reference dose of 0.1 microg/kg body weight/d of methylmercury (MeHg). However, high-end fish eaters consuming several such meals per week may exceed recommended levels.