Uranium in Food Grown in an American Indian Community

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The broad, long-term objective of this study is to identify the health risks and impact of uranium (U) contamination on harvested animals and plants on the Dini (formerly known as Navajo) reservation. This study provides a food chain assessment of U exposure in an American Indian (AI) reservation in northwestern New Mexico. The study setting was a prime target of U mining for military purposes from 1945 to 1988. More than 1,100 unreclaimed abandoned U mines and structures remain. These abandoned U mines, structures and tailings contaminate the land and vegetation on which humans and livestock consume. The specific aims of the study are to: (1) describe the dietary behavior in Dini residents specifically related to ingestion of locally harvested animals and plants; (2) compare U levels in locally harvested animals and plants from areas known to have high levels of environmental U contamination to those from areas known to have low levels of U contamination; (3) explore potential routes of U exposure for locally harvested plants and animals; and (4) disseminate study findings to the leadership and community on the Navajo reservation. This is a comparison study examining contamination levels in locally harvested animals and plants from reservation areas known to have high levels of environmental U contamination to those from areas known to have low levels of U contamination. Data obtained from the parent study or the DiNEH (Dini Network for Environmental Health) cohort (N=1,304) will serve as the source from which to identify subjects and samples for the research. Of the DiNEH cohort respondents, those individuals who reported positively to questionnaire responses to harvesting sheep (n=280) and crops (n=180) will be selected into the present study. Animal data U levels will be determined on a scale of micrograms (<g) per kilogram (kg) and plants will be reported at Parts Per Million (PPM). Commonly harvested foodstuffs will be examined in this community. Uranium concentration levels will be derived from harvested Ovis aries or sheep (n=38), botanicals including herbs and forage (n=26), crops (n=98), and soil utilizing Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The representative animal (O. aries), crops (e.g. corn, squash, beans, melon), and plant materials including local forage grasses and herbs will be collected from sample areas within a two mile (3.2 km) radius from the central part of abandoned U mines, tailings/waste piles, and structures. The study will explore potential routes (e.g. water and soil) of U exposure for locally harvested plants and animals. Environmental assessments of soil will be integrated with the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) and DiNEH data. This research will determine if locally harvested animals and plants on the Dini Reservation are safe for consumption. Study findings will be disseminated and educational information will be provided to the Dini community via newsletters, community and chapter house forums. Findings of U concentration levels will be valuable for predicting U transfer to harvested food and for conducting future evaluations of the impacts of U mining on critical food chain.