Exposures among pregnant women near the World Trade Center site on 11 September 2001

Details

• Personal Author:
  Berkowitz GS ; Caldwell KL ; Georgopoulos P ; Jones RL ; Li W ; Lioy PJ ; Santella RM ; Sjödin, Andreas ; Teitelbaum SL ; Turner, Wayman E. ; Wang RY ; Wolff MS
• Description:
  We have characterized environmental exposures among 187 women who were pregnant, were at or near the World Trade Center (WTC) on or soon after 11 September 2001, and are enrolled in a prospective cohort study of health effects. Exposures were assessed by estimating time spent in five zones around the WTC and by developing an exposure index (EI) based on plume reconstruction modeling. The daily reconstructed dust levels were correlated with levels of particulate matter < or = 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5; r = 0.68) or PM10 (r = 0.73-0.93) reported from 26 September through 8 October 2001 at four of six sites near the WTC whose data we examined. Biomarkers were measured in a subset. Most (71%) of these women were located within eight blocks of the WTC at 0900 hr on 11 September, and 12 women were in one of the two WTC towers. Daily EIs were determined to be highest immediately after 11 September and became much lower but remained highly variable over the next 4 weeks. The weekly summary EI was associated strongly with women's perception of air quality from week 2 to week 4 after the collapse (p < 0.0001). The highest levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-deoxyribonucleic acid (PAH-DNA) adducts were seen among women whose blood was collected sooner after 11 September, but levels showed no significant associations with EI or other potential WTC exposure sources. Lead and cobalt in urine were weakly correlated with sigmaEI, but not among samples collected closest to 11 September. Plasma OC levels were low. The median polychlorinated biphenyl level (sum of congeners 118, 138, 153, 180) was 84 ng/g lipid and had a nonsignificant positive association with sigmaEI (p > 0.05). 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Heptachlorodibenzodioxin levels (median, 30 pg/g lipid) were similar to levels reported in WTC-exposed firefighters but were not associated with EI. This report indicates intense bystander exposure after the WTC collapse and provides information about nonoccupational exposures among a vulnerable population of pregnant women. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Air Pollution, Indoor Biomarkers Dust Environmental Exposure Environmental Health Environmental Pollution Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Particulate Matter Pregnancy Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Women

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• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Air-quality Airborne-dusts Airborne-fibers Dust-exposure Dust-particles Dusts Environmental-exposure Environmental-hazards Environmental-health Exposure-levels Health-hazards Humans Models Particulates Prenatal-exposure Risk-factors

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• ISSN:
  0091-6765
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; New Jersey ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  113
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045993
• Citation:
  Environ Health Perspect 2005 Jun; 113(6):739-748
• Contact Point Address:
  M.S. Wolff, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Box 1057, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029
• Email:
  mary.wolff@mssm.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040601
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Health Perspectives
• End Date:
  20100531
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:08c88bdf11ec0608c7badf644fb7385e4cb0feb62678ed8d3192f75f1b6244138160b5470b9ee494b61d881cd78d42160b78bc40d3bc808fbafff98b0ffbabc6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201192/cdc_201192_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.86 MB ]