Human developmental toxicity of metal mixture exposure from e-waste recycling

描述(由申请人提供)：本申请涉及RFA-OD-10-005中的五个主题领域之一：关注全球卫生。电子垃圾已经成为一个全球性的环境健康问题，因为它在世界范围内产生了巨大的产生量--每年大约2000-5000万吨。电子垃圾含有高水平的几种金属(铅[铅]、汞[汞]、镉[镉]、铬[铬]、锰[锰]等)，但不适当和不受管制的回收利用使发展中国家许多城镇和村庄的工人和居民暴露在危险之中。迫切需要对脆弱人群的暴露水平和潜在毒性进行公共卫生调查，以解决这一关键的环境健康问题。这项研究与美国国立卫生研究院关于减少发展中国家可预防的发病率和死亡率的全球健康使命密切相关。发育中的胎儿和幼儿特别容易受到环境毒物的影响。电子垃圾中的金属混合物在成分和浓度上是独一无二的，但这种复杂暴露的毒性在发育中的胎儿和幼儿中几乎是未知的。长期目标是调查电子垃圾有毒混合物的发展影响，并提供人体研究证据，为未来的监管行动和公共卫生预防提供信息。该应用程序将招募600名孕妇(300人来自电子垃圾回收点，300人来自中国的控制点)，并在产后9个月内跟踪调查，以解决这一全球健康问题。申请者将实现三个具体目标：1)确定孕妇及其胎儿接触电子废金属混合物的特征；2)检查与电子废金属混合物接触有关的不良妊娠后果；以及3)调查电子废金属混合物暴露对神经发育的毒性和甲状腺激素的干扰。申请者将评估电子废物金属混合物(铅、汞、镉、铬、锰)的环境(空气、灰尘、土壤)和生物(母亲血液、尿液、头发、脐带血)暴露标记物。将检查妊娠结局(死产、孕长、早产、出生体重、小于胎龄[SGA]、出生长度、头围、肛门距离[AGD])、甲状腺激素(TSH、T4、T3)和婴儿神经发育(贝利婴儿发育量表-2[BSID-2])。这项研究将提供有关电子垃圾中的金属毒物和人类发育结果的新数据，增加关于很少研究的混合物暴露的科学知识，并为减少发展中国家电子废物毒物暴露的环境卫生政策提供信息。 与公共健康相关：拟议的研究将解决全球环境健康的一个关键问题--产生大量电子垃圾，但发展中国家普遍存在原始回收。这项研究将探讨原始电子垃圾回收活动产生的金属混合物的发展影响。它将为环境卫生政策的制定提供参考，以管理电子垃圾，保护人类健康。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application addresses one of the five thematic areas in the RFA-OD-10-005: Focusing on Global Health. Electronic waste (e-waste) has become a global environmental health problem because of its huge amount of production worldwide--approximately 20-50 million tons per year. E-waste contains high levels of several metals (lead [Pb], mercury [Hg], cadmium [Cd], chromium [Cr], manganese [Mn], etc.), but inappropriate and unregulated recycling exposes the workers and residents in many towns and villages in developing countries. Public health investigations into the exposure levels and potential toxicity in vulnerable population are urgently needed to address this critical environmental health problem. This research is closely related to NIH mission on global health to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Developing fetuses and young children are especially susceptible to environmental toxicants. The metal mixture in e-waste is unique in its composition and concentrations, but the toxicity of this complex exposure is virtually unknown in developing fetuses and young children. The long-term goal is to investigate developmental effects of e-waste toxicant mixtures and provide human study evidence to inform future regulatory actions and public health prevention. The application will address this global health problem by recruiting 600 pregnant women (300 from an e-waste recycling site and 300 from a control site in China) and following up to 9 months postpartum. The applicants will accomplish three Specific Aims: 1) Characterize the e-waste metal mixture exposure in pregnant women and their fetuses; 2) Examine adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with e-waste metal mixture exposure; and 3) Investigate neurodevelopmental toxicity and thyroid hormone disruption of e-waste metal mixture exposure. The applicants will assess the environmental (air, dust, soil) and biological (maternal blood, urine, hair, cord blood) exposure markers of e-waste metal mixtures (Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr, Mn). Pregnancy outcomes (stillbirth, gestational length, preterm birth, birth weight, small for gestational age [SGA], birth length, head circumference, anogenital distance [AGD]), thyroid hormones (TSH, T4, T3), and infant neurodevelopment (Bayley Scales of Infant Development-2 [BSID-2]) will be examined. This study will provide novel data about metal toxicants in e-waste and developmental outcomes in humans, increase scientific knowledge about rarely studied mixture exposure, and inform environmental health policy making to reduce e- waste toxicant exposure in developing countries. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed study will address a critical issue of global environmental health--enormous e-waste production but with prevailing primitive recycling in developing countries. This study will address the developmental effects of metal mixtures from primitive e-waste recycling activities. It will inform environmental health policy making to manage the e-waste and protect human health.