ORGANOCHLORINES AND METALS IN NEW YORK AND THE HUDSON

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DESCRIPTION (Taken from application) The Mount Sinai Superfund Basic Research Program is a coordinated, interdisciplinary program of research, training, community outreach and public health intervention. The program?s goal is to prevent disease, developmental dysfunction and environmental degradation associated with organochlorines and heavy metals. Biomedical studies in the program focus on neurobiological, endocrine and reproductive outcomes. The geographic focus is the watershed of the lower Hudson River and New York City, a 300-km long, densely populated, heavily industrialized region that is contaminated by a complex mix of organochlorines - PCBs, DDT, chlordane, dieldrin, and dioxins - as well as by heavy metals, especially lead and mercury. EPA has declared the lower Hudson River the nation s longest Superfund site. Research projects in this program will examine: 1) environmental sources, distribution and fate of organochlorines in the lower Hudson River and New York Harbor; 2) inhibition of cell membrane efflux pumps by organochlorines, a possible novel mechanism of estrogenic action; 3) disruption by organochlorines of the Wnt gene pathway in the female reproductive tract, a possible molecular genetic mechanism of developmental toxicity; 4) interactions of organochlorine exposures and genetic polymorphisms in the genesis of Parkinson's Disease; 5) cumulative exposures to organochlorines and heavy metals in urban anglers who eat fish and shellfish from the lower Hudson River and New York Harbor; 6) Environmental sources, distribution and fate of heavy metals; 7) mobilization of stored lead from bone during pregnancy and lactation, a possible risk factor for neurodevelopmental toxicity. The program includes a Community-Based Prevention/Intervention Research Project, "Preventing Fetal Neurotoxicity by Reducing Local Fish Consumption: An Education Intervention among Women in New York City." It contains support cores in Biostatistics and Data Management, Exposure Assessment, Stable Lead Isotope Analysis and Genetic Analysis. The Outreach Core seeks to empower urban communities affected by hazardous wastes through partnerships in environmental education. The multi-tiered Training Core offers a range of programs in environmental education that extends from high school through the graduate level. The Administrative Core integrates the work of the entire program and translates the results of research into prevention-centered public policy through coordinating our efforts in communications, technology transfer and government liaison.