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Archive for Superfund
Researchers Receive Grant Driven by Community Concerns
Researchers from the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology have recently been awarded a $10 million grant from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to study asbestos exposure pathways that lead to mesothelioma, the bioremediation of this hazardous material, and mechanisms that lead to asbestos-related diseases.
The grant creates a new Center, Penn Superfund Research and Training Program (SRP) Center, Directed by Ian Blair, PhD, a researcher with extensive experience in biomarker research elucidating the toxicology of chemicals. This blog will continue to highlight the exciting research that comes from the grant.
Penn Superfund Research and Training Program (SRP) Center
The Penn Superfund Research and Training Program (SRP) Center evolved from community concerns about living near the BoRit Asbestos Superfund site in Ambler, PA. The Penn Superfund Center is academically located at CEET in Philadelphia, about 20 miles South of Ambler. The Center’s approach will be interdisciplinary involving researchers from the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine as well as Fox Chase Cancer Center. A unique interdisciplinary training program will marry environmental science and environmental health sciences so that doctoral and postdoctoral students will be trained in both complementary disciplines. Unique features of this training include participation in Superfund webinars sponsored by NIEHS and internships in technology transfer at CTT and the EPA.
What Will the Center Do?
The Center will address community-based questions or concerns that have been previously identified by the community through the Community Outreach and Engagement Core:
- Can we remediate asbestos without moving it from the original disposal site?
- What do we know about the fate and transport of asbestos in the environment by water and air?
- What do we know about the exposure pathways that were responsible for the mesothelioma cluster in Ambler? And why is the incidence higher in women?
- Is susceptibility to mesothelioma genetic?
- Can asbestos-related disease be prevented?
- Is there a blood test to determine whether a person will get asbestos-related disease?
About the Community
Ambler residents have a long history of occupational and/or environmental exposure to asbestos. As a result residents of the area face very serious long-term health consequences. The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the COEC at CEET determined an increased rate of mesothelioma in the area compared to other adjacent zip codes. Women had a greater risk than men, despite being less likely to have worked in the asbestos industry. Our researchers will continue to investigate and work with the community to acquire more information about exposure pathways that led to these health risks. The residents in South and West Ambler remain at risk for environmental exposure.
The work and results from the Center’s research will inform other areas of asbestos exposure across the country. For example, a sociological study to identify how asbestos exposure can occur and whether this can explain the cluster of asbestos-induced mesotheliomas in Ambler will be conducted by Fran Barg and Ted Emmett. The results may be applicable to the 15 other Superfund asbestos sites in the US.
This award and the development of the Penn Superfund Research and Training Program Center is the first NIEHS Superfund grant driven by problems identified in a community-academic partnership and promotes bi-directional communication between the University and the community. The interdisciplinary center is uniquely qualified to address the concerns relating to asbestos exposure that have been identified by the Ambler community.
How Can You Get Involved?
The SRP website is currently being developed and will have the most up to date information regarding the Center, the research, and how to get involved.
You can also visit Resources for Education and Action for Community Health in Ambler (REACH Ambler) and the BoRit Community Advisory Group (CAG) Website
We want to hear from you!
Please share with us any questions you have regarding asbestos or any other environmental health issues by using the comment field, contact us, Twitter or Facebook!
Have a suggestion for a topic to be covered in our blog? Let us know! We would love to cover a topic that you are interested in learning more about!
Follow #IamEH for all of our posts and learn about what environmental health questions are being asked all over the country!
Researchers Work with Community to Investigate Asbestos Health Effects in Ambler
Several researchers have recently been awarded a grant from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to study asbestos exposure pathways that lead to mesothelioma, the bioremediation of this hazardous material, and mechanisms that lead to asbestos-related diseases.
The Penn Superfund Research and Training Program (SRP) Center evolved from community concerns about living near the BoRit Asbestos Superfund site in Ambler, PA. The Penn Superfund Center is academically located at CEET in Philadelphia, about 20 miles South of Ambler.
What is mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is a cancer that develops in people exposed to asbestos usually affecting the lining of the lungs. Asbestos use has declined dramatically over the past few decades but the incidence of mesothelioma remains steady. The cancer can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos before it shows obvious signs. Many people who have developed mesothelioma can trace their exposure to their workplace because asbestos was used widely for insulation around pipes and in ships and brake pads in vehicles.
How are community members exposed to asbestos?
Workers are not the only group exposed to asbestos. There are some community circumstances that can expose residents. BoRit Asbestos Site in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania straddles the townships of Ambler, Upper Dublin and Whitpain. It exists as a result of waste disposal by the former Keasby and Mattison Company, Certainteed Corporation, and Nicolet Industries, which all produced large volumes of asbestos products including: paper, millboard, electrical insulation, brake linings, piping, conveyor belts, high pressure packings, roofing shingles, cement siding, asbestos cement pipe, automobile parts, laboratory table tops and other products. Various types of asbestos were used in these operations including crocidolite (Blue asbestos), amosite (Brown Asbestos) and crysotile (White Asbestos). Asbestos manufacturing operations occurred on or near the site from 1897 through the late 1980s. Some intermediate cleanup of part of the site has been undertaken, but fraying asbestos products are still observable on the surface of parts of the site, which is adjacent to residential neighborhoods.
The waste disposal sites were known as the “white mountains” and community activities such as sledding and playing on the site were commonly reported in the past.These activities would have led to asbestos fibers being propelled into the air making them available for people to inhale them. Workers, families of workers, and former residents who lived near these sites may have been significantly exposed to asbestos.
What are the health risks of asbestos exposure?
As a result of living in Ambler and/or working in the asbestos plants there, residents of the area face very serious long-term health consequences. The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the COEC at CEET determined an increased rate of mesothelioma in the area compared to other adjacent zip codes. Women had a greater risk than men even though few women worked in the asbestos industry. Our researchers will continue to investigate and work with the community to acquire more information about exposure pathways that led to these health risks. The residents in South and West Ambler remain at risk for environmental exposure and have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma.
Do you want to learn more?
If you would like to learn more about environmental exposure and what we are doing at the University of Pennsylvania, please feel free to explore our website and the target communities page.
The Penn Superfund Research and Training Program (SRP) Center website is currently being developed and will have the most up to date information regarding the Center, the research, and how to get involved.
You can also check out Resources for Education and Action for Community Health in Ambler (REACH Ambler) and the BoRit Community Advisory Group (CAG) Website
How to get involved?
The easiest way to stay involved is to follow the COEC at CEET on Twitter and Like Us on Facebook. We will post regular updates on events all around Philadelphia.
We want to hear from you!
Please share with us any questions you have regarding asbestos or any other environmental health issues by using the comment field, contact us, Twitter or Facebook!
Have a suggestion for a topic to be covered in our blog? Let us know! We would love to cover a topic that you are interested in learning more about!
Follow #IamEH for all of our posts and learn about what environmental health questions are being asked all over the country!
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