title: Associations between metals in residential environmental media and exposure biomarkers over time in infants living near a mining-impacted site.
abstract: Infant exposures to metals are a concern for mining-impacted communities, although limited information is available to assess residential exposures over the first year of life. We measured lead (Pb), manganese, arsenic, and cadmium in indoor air, house dust, yard soil, and tap water from 53 infants' homes near the Tar Creek Superfund Site (Oklahoma, USA) at two time points representing developmental stages before and during initial ambulation (age 0-6 and 6-12 months). We measured infant metal biomarkers in: umbilical cord blood (n=53); 12- (n=43) and 24- (n=22) month blood; and hair at age 12 months (n=39). We evaluated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between infant residential and biomarker concentrations. A doubling of mean dust Pb concentration was consistently associated with 36-49% higher 12-month blood Pb adjusting for cord blood Pb (P⩽0.05). Adjusted dust concentration explained 29-35% of blood Pb variance, and consistent associations with other media were not observed. Although concentrations in dust and blood were generally low, strong and consistent associations between dust and body burden suggest that house dust in mining-impacted communities may impact children's health. These relationships were observed at a young age, typically before blood Pb levels peak and when children's development may be particularly vulnerable to toxic insult.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington District of Columbia, USA.
authors.forename: Ami R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zota
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington District of Columbia, USA.
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Riederer
authors.affiliation: Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Adrienne S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ettinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Laurel A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Schaider
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Shine
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York USA.
authors.forename: Chitra J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Amarasiriwardena
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York USA.
authors.forename: Robert O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Spengler
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D009825:Oklahoma; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D060766:Drinking Water; D004391:Dust; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants