Tribal-University Evaluation of Chemical Exposures to Improve Community Health

1. SUPERFUND RESEARCH PROGRAM
Tribal-University Evaluation of Chemical Exposures
to Improve Community Health
2016
Collaborating with the Swinomish Indian
Tribal Community
The Community Engagement Core is part of Oregon State University’s
(OSU) Superfund Research Program (SRP). We work with Native American
Tribes to investigate their concerns about environmental pollution. In
2014, we were told about the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s (SITC)
concerns about pollution from oil refineries located adjacent to their
shellfish harvesting areas and are 10 miles upwind of the SITC reservation.
Our collaboration initially focused on seafood contaminants. However, it
expanded in 2015 to include air monitoring. This is the result of a bad air
pollution event that occurred in February 2015 when people living and
working on the SITC reservation started smelling an odor like “burning
tires”. By the time the event was over, there were over 100 written
complaints of people experiencing nausea, headaches and burning in the
throat and lungs and 12 people sought medical treatment for breathing
problems. At the time, Shell Puget Sound Refinery publically stated they
were doing routine maintenance of a flare system, which is a safety device
that burns of waste gases, and that their monitoring did not find any
harmful chemicals in the air. However, after a 6 months investigation,
Washington State found that the refinery did not properly decontaminate
equipment in the flare system which led to the uncontrolled release of
pollutants and fined the company.
As a result of this event, SITC expressed a desire to learn more about air
quality and people’s exposure to chemical on the Reservation. This has led
to two new studies which are described in this newsletter.
2 Personal Exposure to PAHs
3 Co-locating Air Monitors on Swinomish Reservation
4 Training the next generation
In this issue
Timeline of Events

2. 2 Tribal—University Partnership Current Projects
Background
The investigation of the Shell Puget
Sound Refinery found that several
different types of chemicals including
PAHs were released into the air. As a
result, Swinomish Senate prioritized
community air toxics monitoring (see
Timeline).
To begin to address SITC’s concerns,
we began a personal monitoring study.
Our approach took advantage of Dr.
Kim Anderson’s recent invention of
the silicone wristband monitoring
device (Figure 1). Personal monitoring
is useful because it collects data on
exposures that different people have
in common, as well as, exposures that
are unique. This is because a person’s
exposure to chemicals may change
based on where they spend their time,
where they work, and where they live.
The Project
In March 2016, ten people wore a
wristband for one week. They also
completed an activity diary where they
recorded how much time they spent
near possible sources of PAHs. Dr.
Anderson’s lab analyzed the
wristbands looking for 62 different
types of PAHs.
Reporting Results
In the 10 wristbands, we found 25
different kinds of PAHs. Each person in
the study was exposed to different
types and amounts of these PAHs
(Figure 2). Overall, the total amount of
PAH’s absorbed in the wristbands
ranged from 404—2379 nanograms.
The amount of time a person spent
near a known source of PAHs
influenced their total PAH exposure.
PAHs are present in air pollution. In
addition to being present in gasoline
and oil, they are also produced when
wood, grass, or other organic material
is burned. All wristbands contained 6
types of PAHs that are commonly
found in petroleum products and
wood smoke.
This information helps to establish
Measuring Personal Exposure to PAHs
SITC members wear silicon wristbands to learn about their chemical exposures
background exposure levels and learn
about people’s exposure to PAHs who
live on the Swinomish reservation. It
also provides a more accurate
assessment of the risks potentially
posed by PAHs to this community.
SITC wants to collect chemical
exposure data during an atmospheric
inversion. Therefore, we will repeat
this study in the Winter 2017 when
atmospheric conditions are different.
This will help us evaluate seasonal
changes that could affect people’s
exposures to PAHs.
Figure 1. When exposed to air, the silicone
wristband absorbs thousands of different types
of chemicals. They will also absorb chemicals
from any substance that they come in contact
with such as dirt, water, or even your skin.
Figure 2. This chart shows the different types of
PAHs measured in the 10 wristbands. Each column
represents one wristband. Each person had a
different exposure profile to PAHs because people
had different activity patterns which led to some
people having more contact with PAHs than others.
The unit of measurement is expressed in
nanograms of Total PAHs detected in the
wristband. To put this in perspective, it takes one
billion nanograms to make a gram.
0
1000
2000
3000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
NanogramsofPAHsin
eachwristband
Each bar represents one individual in the study

3. 3EVALUATION OF CHEMICAL EXPOSURES TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY HEALTH
Background
OSU SRP Investigator Dr. Staci Simonich
studies air pollution events. Specifically,
she can identify the source of pollution
and determine whether the source is
local or from far away. She does this by
measuring particles in the air and
looking at the chemicals that are
attached to these particles.
There are two oil refineries located in
close proximity to the Swinomish
reservation (Figure 3). Working with Dr.
Donatuto and Dr. Basabe of the
Community Environmental Health
Program and the SITC Air Program, Dr.
Simonich’s team added two new high
volume air samplers on the Swinomish
reservation. These new high volume air
samplers are co-located near existing
air monitors operated conducted by
SITC’s Air Program—one is located at
the NW Indian College and the other is
near the Casino (Figure 4). The new
monitors use filters placed between
metal plates to trap fine and coarse
particulate matter. The filters can then
be analyzed for PAHs and their
breakdown products. Additionally, the
toxicity of the pollutants trapped by
the filters can be tested in the Ames
assay. This assay uses bacteria and
determines whether the chemicals can
cause mutations in DNA. This is a first
step in determining if the chemicals in
the air can potentially cause cancer.
The Project
In April 2016, Dr. Simonich and three
SRP trainees (Amber Kramer, Cleo
Davie-Martin, Courtney Roper)
traveled to Swinomish to install the
high volume samplers. At this time
Swinomish technicians were trained to
deploy and collect filters. Additionally,
CEC staff produced a short training
video that shows how to operate the
air samplers.
The goal for this study is to collect
samples at both sites on the same day
each week for one year. This will
collect paired 24 hour samples that
will be analyzed for PAHs and their
degradation products (nitrated and
oxygenated PAHs). This information
will be combined with the
meteorological data that is collected
by the Swinomish Air Program.
Using computer models that take into
consideration wind direction, wind
speed, and the time it takes to
degrade PAHs in the atmosphere, Dr.
Simonich’s team will be able to
determine if the air pollution collected
on the Swinomish reservation is
coming from the local refineries.
New co-located air pollution measurements
Additional air pollution monitoring on the Swinomish Reservation
Figure 3. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
is located about 10 miles from the oil refineries
on March Point.
Oil refineries
Swinomish
Figure 4. (left) Amber Kramer (SRP Trainee) sets up a high volume air sampler at the NW Indian
College. (right) Dr. Simonich watches as SRP trainees Amber Kramer and Cleo Davie-Martin set up a
sampler atop a shed at the Casino site.

4. The Training Core and the CEC helped bring 20 Native American
high schools students from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation and Warm Springs to Oregon State University.
The event was organized by Sydelle Harrison (CEC trainee) who
scheduled the campus tours to coincide with Oregon State
University’s Research Day and the Native American Longhouse Eena
Haws’ annual salmon bake and pow wow. In addition to
participating in these research and cultural activities, Sydelle
arranged for the high school students to tour several Superfund
Research laboratories and meet with SRP faculty and trainees.
If you have any questions, please contact
Molly Kile, Associate Professor
Oregon State University
College of Public Health and Human Sciences
15 Milam Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331
Telephone: (541) 737-1443
Email: Molly.Kile@oregonstate.edu
Visit our website to learn about projects supported by OSU’s
Superfund Community Engagement Core:
http://superfund.oregonstate.edu/outreach
This project is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program Grant P42 ESO16465
Campus Tours
Reaching out to the next generation
4
Core Personnel
Molly Kile, Sc.D., Core Leader
Oregon State University
Barbara Harper, Ph.D., Co-Leader
Oregon State University
Anna Harding, Ph.D., Co-Leader
Oregon State University
Sydelle Harrison, B.S., SRP Trainee
Oregon State University
Jamie Donatuto, Ph.D., Community Liaison
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Diana Rohlman, Ph.D., Program Coordinator
Oregon State University
Stuart Harris, B.S., Consultant
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Interning at the Yellowhawk Tribal
Health Center
Understanding community health assessments
Sydelle Harrison was awarded an
SRP Externship to work with the
Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center at
the Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
(CTUIR). Sydelle worked on various
special projects to support the
Center’s public health
accreditation process. Her duties
included outreach related to the
community health assessment and
collecting feedback regarding the
community health improvement
plan. The Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Clinic celebrated 20 years of self-governance this year and will be
moving into a new state-of-the art facility in 2017. As a Tribal
member and SRP trainee, Sydelle also worked on the Clinic’s new
strategic plan and promoted integration of environmental health
into the organization’s expanded services. Between her externship
and her role as an SRP trainee, Sydelle is also working on
developing material that can improve cultural competency within
University science training programs who wish to work with Native
American Tribes.
Sydelle Harrison is currently
working on her MPH degree at OSU.
Here she is sharing community
health assessment data with CTUIR .