Environmental Epidemiology, Volume 1 Public Health and Hazardous Wastes (1991) / Chapter Skim
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6. Soil and Food as Potential Sources of Exposure at Hazardous-Waste Sites
6. Soil and Food as Potential Sources of Exposure at Hazardous-Waste Sites
Pages 203-218
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From page 203... ...
However, contaminated soil and domestic water can act as vehicles for contamination of plant or animal foods that are subsequently ingested as is the case for mercury and pesticide contamination of fish and heavy metal or pesticide contamination of fruits and vegetables. The questions of the effects of pesticide residues on foods and the subsequent health risks for children are the subject of study by another National Research Council committee, and they will not be considered here.
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From page 204... ...
(1989) similarly report that mice fed diets of Lake Ontario salmon had reduced immune function, including lowered immunoglobulin, which correlated with elevated PCB levels in the ingested salmon.
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From page 205... ...
Cats and fish-eating birds were affected, and laboratory animals fed fish and shellfish from Minamata Bay also developed the disease (Tsubaki and Irukayama, 1977~. In the U.S., mercury contamination of fish is especially prevalent in the Great Lakes region; for example, the State of Michigan has issued advisories based on its monitoring of mercury and other contaminants in sport fish (Institute of Medicine, 1991~.
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From page 206... ...
In 1946, Itai-Itai byo, the "ouch-ouch disease," was first identified. Its symptoms were later recognized to be the result of osteomalacia a softening of the bones caused by a deficiency of vitamin D or of calcium and phosphorous from chronic cadmium poisoning that developed through the consumption of the contaminated rice (Friberg et al., 1985b)
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From page 207... ...
(1991~. However, their study excluded workers in maintenance and repair from the exposed study group; these workers are, in fact, likely to have had high intermittent exposures when repairing product machinery.
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From page 208... ...
were regarded as indicators of a potential human hazard, especially to groups such as sport fishermen and their families. Subpopulations that consume fish taken from contaminated waters, such as Lake Michigan and near Triana, Alabama, have mean serum polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
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From page 209... ...
Over a three-year period there was no reduction in fertility, fetal loss, or excess cancer incidence in comparison to that expected from New York state rates. However, there was an excess of reported unexplained weight loss, muscle pain, frequent coughing, skin color changes, and nervousness or sleep problems in the heavily exposed compared to the low-exposure group.
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From page 210... ...
DIRECT EXPOSURE FROM DUMPS ARSENIC ATSDR (1989) conducted a human exposure study to determine whether adults or children living near an abandoned arsenic production site who frequented the area had elevated levels of urinary arsenic, and if so whether time spent at the site was correlated with elevated urinary arsenic levels.
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From page 211... ...
LEAD EXPOSURE Mined and processed since antiquity, lead remains a ubiquitous, persistent environmental pollutant that is also one of those most common at Superfund sites. Lead enters the environment through a broad range of pathways, reflecting the diverse uses to which industrial societies have put this heavy metal.
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From page 212... ...
A study of residential surface soils in Leadville, Colorado, located near the California Gulch Superfund site, found that more than 60 percent of the residential soil levels were higher than 1000 ppm and more than 80 percent had levels higher than 500 ppm (CDOH et al., 1990~. Soil lead levels of more than 500-100 ppm are associated with increased in blood lead concentrations, especially in young children (CDC, 1985~.
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From page 213... ...
Market Basket Survey consists of four samples of grocery products purchased annually in each of four regions of the U.S., and prepared for eating. In the Total Diet Study, 234 different food items are collected and analyzed four times each year in three cities in each of four regions.
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From page 214... ...
Those included, such as haddock, pollock and fish sticks, are among the products least likely to include significant lipophilic pesticide or other chemical contamination (Institute of Medicine, 1991~. A number of analysts have questioned the validity of applying such a limited sampling strategy to generalizations about the nation's overall food supply (Institute of Medicine, 1991~.
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From page 215... ...
Models indicate that adults may be exposed directly or indirectly, through the food chain, and that children incur greater exposures per unit of body weight. Home gardening and ingestion of subsistence or recreational fish can be important sources of these contaminants, according to a number of sources.
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From page 216... ...
1987. Toxic effects in C57B1/6 and DBA/2 mice following consumption of halogenated aromatic hydrocarboncontaminated Great Lakes coho salmon (Or~corhyncl~us kisutch Walbaum)
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From page 217... ...
1990. Neurotoxic behavioral effects of Lake Ontario salmon diets in rats.
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From page 218... ...
1983. Lake Michigan fish consumption as a source of polychlorinated biphenyls in human cord serum, maternal serum, and milk.
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