New York State (NYS) employees who responded to the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster on or after 11 September 2001 potentially experienced exposures that might have caused persistent respiratory effects. NYS responders represent a more moderately exposed population than typical first responders. 

To assess whether NYS employees who were WTC responders were more likely than controls to report lower respiratory symptoms (LRS) or a diagnosis of asthma 5 years post-9/11, persistence and severity of symptoms were also evaluated. 

Participants were initially mailed self-administered questionnaires (initial, Year 1, Year 2) and then completed a telephone interview in Year 3. Data were analysed using Poisson’s regression models. 

WTC exposure was associated with LRS, including cough symptoms suggestive of chronic bronchitis, 5 years post-9/11. When exposure was characterized using an exposure assessment method, the magnitude of effect was greater in those with exposure scores above the mean. WTC exposure was associated with persistence of LRS over the 3 year study period. Results also suggest that participants with the highest exposures were more likely to experience increased severity of their asthma condition and/or LRS. 

The findings suggest that even in a moderately exposed responder population, lower respiratory effects were a persistent problem 5 years post-9/11, indicating that some WTC responders require ongoing monitoring.  

Literature: Mauer MP, Cummings KR, Hoen R., Long-term respiratory symptoms in World Trade Center responders, Bureau of Occupational Health, Center for Environmental Health, New York State Department of Health, Occup Med (Lond). 2009 Dec 24.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released a user-friendly document to help risk assessors understand how children are exposed to pollution. The document, titled “Highlights of the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook” serves as a quick-reference guide to the more comprehensive “Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook” published by EPA in 2008. It will serve as an additional resource for those who work on children’s health issues, which the agency has been highlighting during Children’s Health Month.

EPA developed the reference guide to provide important information necessary for answering questions about exposure through drinking water, breathing, and eating foods, such as:

• How much exposure to environmental pollutants might children get if they live or play near contaminated sites?
• How much dirt from a child’s hands might s/he inadvertently eat?
• How much of a child’s exposure to various pollutants might come from skin contact?
• Which age groups (childhood life stages) may inhale or ingest the most and thus may be at higher risks?

More information on the documents:

• http://www.epa.gov/childexpfactors/highlights
• http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=200445

Reference: EPA Releases Guide to Help Scientists Understand Children’s Exposure to Pollutants, Release date: 10/27/2009

Exposure monitoring programs have been used in the aluminum smelter industry for decades to decrease the risk of cancer from exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Biological monitoring of PAHs incorporates all routes of exposure.  

Measuring postshift urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1OHP), a metabolite of pyrene, determines worker’s daily PAH exposures, while measuring DNA adducts reflect chronic exposures to PAHs. We reviewed the scientific literature to identify changes over time in (1) 1OHP levels, (2) DNA adduct levels, and (3) other contributing factors associated with 1OHP and DNA adduct levels in the aluminum smelter industry. No trends were observed in 1OHP and DNA adduct levels. This could be due to variable selection of study populations and poorly identified job tasks that prevent comparison of jobs across plants and times, unassessed worker exposure variability, and the impact of cumulative exposures. Thus, it cannot be demonstrated that the use of biological monitoring to estimate PAH exposures has brought about an exposure reduction in the industry.  

Future studies should be aimed at follow-up in workplaces where dermal and inhalation exposure interventions have been employed. Inconsistent findings were also observed in the analysis of CYP1A1, GSTM1, and GSTP1 polymorphisms and their effect on biomarker levels. 

Reference:   Hopf NB, Carreon T, Talaska G.,Biological markers of carcinogenic exposure in the aluminum smelter industry–a systematic review, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, J Occup Environ Hyg. 2009 Sep;6(9):562-81.