August 2016

A version of this story was originally published in the Spring 2013 UW SRP eBulletin.

The Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition (NWTCC) is composed of independent community organizations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington working on local hazardous waste and environmental issues. The members communicate regularly and meet face to face at annual Coalition Summits that began in 2005. (Summits are supported in part by the UW-SRP Research Translation / Community Engagement Core). Just over a year ago, the Coalition worked with Region 10 EPA and the UW SRP program to develop a regional outdoor air workshop called the Northwest Regional Outdoor Air Quality Workshop for Communities.

A version of this story was originally published in the Spring 2013 UW SRP eBulletin.

Region 10 EPA says it in their publications: “Your comments on the proposed plan are important. Your comments may make a difference.” The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition Technical Advisory Group says it to newscasters, in editorials and at public meetings: “Public comments regarding EPA’s proposed plans have changed the plan and improved cleanup.” The word is out and it’s written in the multiple languages spoken in the area: “There are 20 Days left to make a difference, the public comment period closes on June 13th!”

• View a five-minute presentation on DRCC/TAG recommendations that improve upon the EPA plan.
• May 23rd learn about the river and cleanup, join the interactive art event. Experience the River in 3-D
• May 29th participate in the final EPA Public Informational Meetings at Seattle’s Town Hall

A version of this story was originally published in the Spring 2013 UW SRP eBulletin.

A new approach to identifying and characterizing an individual's exposure to organophosphorus (OP) compounds has been developed by researcher Judit Marsillach and her colleagues in the Superfund Research Program laboratory of Dr. Clement Furlong.¹ OPs are among the most common causes of poisoning worldwide, with three million cases of pesticide poisonings per year.^2,3 Recent gains in effective biomonitoring of human agricultural OP exposures allow for improved assessment of exposure risks leading to the protection of human health. Although OP compounds were initially developed as toxic nerve agents in wartime, today OP compounds can also be found in flame retardants, plasticizers, jet engine lubricants and pesticides.

Dr. Marsillach's innovative use of mass spectrometry (MS) to analyze protein modifications (OP-adducted enzymes), for detection of exposure will most likely replace the current standard method of measuring blood cholinesterase inhibition by activity measurements. This new MS protocol has advantages over blood cholinesterase characterization methods as it eliminates the need for a pre-exposure blood draw for measuring an individual's baseline activity. More importantly, with the single draw, a very accurate determination of the percentage modification of the OP adducted biomarker protein is obtained, offering a much more accurate analysis than the existing two blood draw enzymatic protocol.

Agricultural workers in both Washington State and California are part of state monitoring programs for individuals who are at high risk for OP exposure. The Furlong lab protocol includes a simple finger stick blood sample, dabbed onto a collection paper and mailed in an envelope to a laboratory for analysis. With the higher sensitivity that MS analysis of biomarker proteins provides, accurate information is obtained about low-level exposures; and with the use of a second, longer-lived biomarker protein, the time window for analysis is extended almost three-fold.

Citations

1) Marsillach J, Hsieh EJ, Richter RJ, Maccoss MJ, Furlong CE. 2013. Proteomic analysis of adducted butyrylcholinesterase for biomonitoring organophosphorus exposures. Chem Biol Interact 203(1):85-90.

2) World Health Organization. Informal consultation on planning strategy for the prevention of pesticide poisoning. Geneva, 25-29 November 1985. WHONBC/86.926.(Geneva: WHO, 1986).

3) World Health Organization. Public health impact of pesticides used in agriculture. (Geneva: WHO, 1990).

Pictured above, left to right: Drs. Ed Hsieh and Judit Marsillach at the Mike MacCoss Laboratory in UW Genome Sciences.

p>A version of this story was originally published in the Spring 2013 UW SRP eBulletin.

The South Seattle Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group was formed a few years after the Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle was officially named a Superfund site. The group came together in response to requests from communities for improved communications between local and federal agencies, organizations working on environmental health issues and impacted community members. Public Health - Seattle & King County and the Environmental Justice Coordinator at EPA Region 10 organized the inaugural meeting of the group. Morgan Barry, Health Education Consultant from Public Health- Seattle & King County, has continued to convene and coordinate quarterly meetings. 

The working group meetings include representatives from community-based organizations, as well as representatives from 'potentially responsible parties' for Superfund Cleanup (including industries and local and regional governments), the EPA and the State Department of Ecology (agencies tasked with planning for site cleanup), along with faculty and staff from University of Washington. 

Recent South Seattle Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group efforts include:

• Creating and maintaining a communication tool through Public Health- Seattle & King County for group members to post documents and resources on an interactive calendar.
• Hosting and facilitating an urban open space exercise that used the lens of equity. Both the city and the county have implemented equity and social justice policies. A ‘mock charette’ (the charette is a collaborative approach used to solve design problems) was created; members were divided into three teams each with a different fictional park design proposal to redevelop South Park's Duwamish Waterway Park. The King County 'Equity Impact Review Tool' was used to consider the equitable impact of each design. The Equity Tool guided each team through several determinants of equity: social, economic, physical and health, to consider the likely impacts each design might have on community health. Brenda Snyder, a landscape and urban designer, created and presented the three urban park plans.
• In April, Linn Gould, lead researcher for the 'Duwamish Valley Cumulative Health Impact Analysis' presented findings which confirmed that the ethnically diverse, low income neighborhoods of the Duwamish Valley are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards with significant health disparities. The Interagency Group is just beginning to discuss the role it could play in addressing these issues. "Over the years, group members have built connections and relationships that I believe have increased our capacities to create a healthier Duwamish Valley,” said Morgan Barry.

A version of this story was originally published in the Fall 2013 UW SRP eBulletin.

The Linnton Neighborhood Association (LNA) offers many services for their community in Portland, Oregon. The LNA was formed to provide a forum to help unify residents and businesses around common interests that impact their quality of life. The LNA supports activities for seniors and youth, and offers tutoring for children. The association also has an environmental watchdog group tasked with monitoring and responding to activities that could negatively impact their community.

In 2000, the 'Portland Harbor Superfund site' was designated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The site includes approximately eleven miles of the Willamette River, an area that stretches past Linnton. Two LNA members are in the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group (CAG), the ‘EPA-recognized’ community voice. Darise Weller is the CAG treasurer. John Shaw, who represents the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition is also a member. Weller and Shaw said that their current focus is on disseminating more information about the effects of the hazardous waste dump at Terminal 4 on the Willamette River. "It appears that EPA is considering methods that will still leave toxics in place that future generations will have to contend with. It is our goal, however, to reach a real cleanup endpoint."

The Portland Harbor site is in a key stage of cleanup with a Feasibility Study being completed that will be followed by a public comment period. Close attention is being paid to human health impacts as ingestion of resident fish poses the greatest risk of adverse human health effects. Findings from the earlier Remedial Investigation illuminated significant and widespread risks from exposure to PCBs, dioxins and furans, DDT and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 

"In 2011, our neighborhood worked with Oregon Public Health to develop community health priorities called the ‘Linnton Action Model,’ one of our targeted concerns was the lack of redevelopment of the Linnton Plywood Mill site. Today, it seems that the property will not become usable for our community but be absorbed into the overall remediation process" Shaw said.

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A version of this story was originally published in the Fall 2013 UW SRP eBulletin.

When Toluwalose (Tolu) Okitika arrived in Seattle as a Master of Public Health student in the Environmental and Occupational Health Program, she was already well versed in environmental health issues that impact regional communities in Nigeria. In 2012-13, Tolu was involved in two research projects at the University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health. She initially worked with Dr. Judith Wasserheit in the Department of Global Health. Tolu helped implement a ‘Polio Eradication’ simulation game project that was designed to increase interest in global health concerns among the lay public. This study evaluated increased global health interest among game participants against control groups in an exhibition setting. Her results indicated that this kind of interactive activity can indeed raise awareness and increase interest in global public health challenges.

Tolu’s Master’s degree project involved a needs and capacities survey of 33 regional community organizations that focus on pollution and hazardous waste issues in the Northwest United States. In her work with Dr. Tom Burbacher and Research Translation Community Engagement staff of the UW-Superfund Research Program, Tolu developed an on-line survey and phone interview with protocols for collecting information. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were implemented with the intention of documenting individual experiences, expertise and available resources for organizations. The survey participants are from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington and have received results that include their individual on-line survey scores and mean group scores. A webinar is being scheduled for the participants to review and discuss findings that have been completed so far. A publication of this study will follow. 

Tolu also received a graduate certificate in global health and is currently an Associate Program Officer with the Malaria team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

The NIEHS SRP is a strong advocate for interdisciplinary training for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

A version of this story was originally published in the Fall 2013 UW SRP eBulletin.

Dr. Jim Gawel was the invited speaker at the UW-SRP Agency Seminar at EPA Region 10 this summer. Dr. Gawel is an Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering, University of Washington Tacoma. Jim shared his recent research findings on arsenic fate, transport, and bioavailability in regional lakes. 

His biomarker research has helped define the range of impacts of heavy metals pollution in terrestrial and aquatic systems. Urban lake systems not only support plant and animal habitat diversity but are also relevant to key segments of human populations who depend on lakes for subsistence fishing and cultural uses. As urban density continues to increase, knowledge about the mobility of arsenic deposited in lake sediments becomes more important to protecting human health worldwide. Chemical analyses show that arsenic does not remain fixed within the sediment layers. When polluting nutrients and organic compounds enter a lake there is potential for increased phytoplankton growth. Subsequently, decomposition and bacterial respiration occur in sediments and bottom waters, and the arsenic that had been held in sediments can migrate into the water column. Proposed research plans that can assist in development of water quality and sediment quality criteria were described to the agency audience. 

This presentation titled ‘The Long-Term Impact of Metal Smelting Operations on Arsenic Availability in Urban Lakes of South-Central Puget Sound Region’ reached a national audience via EPA’s CLU-IN. The audio file and accompanying slides are archived here. The UW-SRP Vimeo website also hosts the presentation video-file. 

The UW-SRP sponsors regular seminars held in Seattle at the regional EPA headquarters. These seminars are directed toward an audience of agency staff involved with risk assessment and communication at Superfund sites, such as EPA Region 10 and the Washington State Departments of Health and Ecology. The series provides a forum for intra-agency discussions with scientists about current research and applications of the science.

A version of this story was originally published in the Fall 2013 UW SRP eBulletin.

Dr. Evan Gallagher has been engaged in environmental toxicology research for 25 years and has been using aquatic models to study the effects of cadmium, copper and chlorpyrifos (ATSDR priority hazards) in his UW-Superfund Research Project since 2005. 

His laboratory studies the effects of these chemicals on the olfactory systems of Pacific salmon and zebrafish. Dr. Gallagher is investigating the molecular mechanisms of chemical 'injuries' to the olfactory system of salmon in relation to impacts on neurologically-controlled behaviors such as the ability to detect predators and prey, as well as homing skills to return to native streams. This type of olfactory injury has also been demonstrated in other aquatic species, underscoring the ecological importance of this phenomenon as it relates to species’ survival. In addition, zebrafish are an important component of this laboratory research, providing scientists with a well-defined genetic model that can be manipulated in the laboratory, thus complimenting the salmon work. 

The Gallagher laboratory is successfully unraveling the specific mechanisms of chemical-induced olfactory injury by integrating epigenetic, genomic, physiological and behavioral endpoints. The effectiveness of this multi-pronged approach is described in SRP Research Brief 224 which profiles three recent laboratory publications. 

This month Dr. Gallagher is presenting research results on the mechanisms and biomarkers of cadmium-induced olfactory dysfunction in fish at the Nanotechnology and Toxicology Symposium of the 15th International Conference of the Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health. 

A version of this story was originally published in the Spring 2014 UW SRP eBulletin.

Each year since 2005, the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition (NWTCC) has held a summit-style annual organizational meeting. The coalition was originally conceived by a handful of community groups that were working independently on their local waste site or pollution issues, and faced multiple layers of challenges and uncertainty. Today the NWTCC includes members from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington representing a broad geographic region and sharing many common experiences. Hazardous waste and environmental pollution are often: historic in origin, have complex ties to the local economy, and require governmental agency actions to be taken from site 'designation' all the way through to the cleanup process for 'remediation'. 

The cleanup process takes many years, often decades. So it makes perfect sense that nine years after their first meeting, the coalition would want to reflect and honor intermediate successes achieved by its member organizations, and acknowledge the important role that investigative reporters and environmental journalists play in bringing their stories to the public eye. Robert McClure, a writer with Investigate West- Investigative journalism for the Pacific Northwest was given an award of appreciation for his work, such as his 2011 feature on Seattle's Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund SiteAuthor Kathie Durbin

Please follow the links to learn more about the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition, it's members, annual summits, and the coalition's role in establishing a regional outdoor air quality workshop for communities in collaboration with Region 10 EPA and University of Washington Superfund Research Program.

A version of this story was originally published in the Spring 2014 UW SRP eBulletin.

Keum Young Lee, a Superfund Research Program Trainee at the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, received her doctorate in December, 2013. Keum's leading-edge research has opened the door for certain long-lived tree species to be considered as viable field study candidates for chlorpyrifos phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is the use of plants to clean up contaminated soil. Keum worked in Sharon Doty's lab (UW-SRP Project 5) to explore the ability of willow and poplar plants to metabolize and remove the pesticide chlorpyrifos from a plant mineral nutrient solution in the laboratory. The experiment explored toxicity along with the plant's ability to uptake chlorpyrifos and determine its ability to metabolize the chemical.

Chlorpyrifos was developed to control soil borne insects that damage crops and has been used around the world. Although the pesticide has been restricted from residential use, it is still employed in agricultural production in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) tell us that Chlorpyrifos is considered a significant threat to human health that includes poisoning, human birth defects and effects on male infertility. For agencies that protect the environment and our health, finding effective means for removing chlorpyrifos from soils is important. (To learn more about EPA's interest in phytoremediation and related technologies click here.) The results of her dissertation, Phytoremediation of Chlorpyrifos Insecticide: The Use of Woody Plants and Transgenics to Enhance and Understand the Uptake, Translocation, and Transformation of Chlorpyrifos, show that phytoremediation of this pesticide may be possible using willow and poplar trees, which are fast growing species. 

Keum has long been committed to making a positive difference in the health of the environment. Her previous research on enhancing phytoremediation via the use of transgenic plants was awarded honors at the ‘International Phytotechnology Society’s Eighth Conference’ in 2011. Keum’s next career steps will draw her outside the realm of academic research, allowing her to actively apply her knowledge as an environmental scientist in the Pacific Northwest.