vvEPA

United States	EPA/600/R-24/0S2 | May 2024 | www.epa.gov/research

Environmental

Protection Agency

Evaluating Non-Chemical Stressors
for Children's Environmental
Health Protection:

Workshop Summary

* ifS .ฆ jV t,1

Office of Research and Development

Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment


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FINAL REPORT

EPA 600/R-24/082 | May 2024
www.epa.gov/research

Evaluating Non-Chemical Stressors
for Children's Environmental Health
Protection: Workshop Summary

Nicolle Tulve1, Project Lead, Research Physical Scientist
Emily Eisenhauer1, Social Scientist
Jonathan Essoka2, Superfund and Technology Liaison
Intaek Hahn3, Physical Scientist
Matthew Harwell1, Supervisory Ecologist

Susan Julius1, Assistant Center Director for Sustainable and Healthy
Communities

Sarah Mazur4, Principal Associate National Program Director, Sustainable
and Healthy Communities Research Program

Michael Nye5, Risk Communication Advisor

Angie Shatas4, Associate National Program Director, Air, Climate, and
Energy Research Program

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27709

1	Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment

2	Center for Enviromnental Solutions and Emergency Response

3	Office of Science Advisor, Policy, and Engagement

4	Office of Research and Development, Immediate Office of the Assistant Administrator

5	Office of Public Affairs, Office of the Administrator


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NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER

This document has been reviewed in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Research and Development, and approved for publication.

The appropriate citation for this report is:

Tulve N., Eisenhauer E., Essoka J., Hahn I., Harwell M., Julius S., Mazur S., Nye M., and Shatas A.
Evaluating Non-Chemical Stressors for Children's Environmental Health Protection: Workshop
Summary. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. EPA/600/
R-24/082. 2024.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	

The authors thank Timothy Buckley (Office of Research and Development) and Samuel Kay
(Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights) for their insightful reviews of this
report. This report is a summary of the Evaluating Non-Chemical Stressors for Children's
Environmental Health Protection workshop. Statements included in this report reflect
discussions among workshop participants and should not be interpreted as official views of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.


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Table of Contents

NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER	ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	ii

ACRONYMS	iv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY	1

SESSION SUMMARIES	3

Keynote: Overview of EPA's Research on Non-Chemical Stressors	4

Keynote: Overview of Academic Research on Non-Chemical Stressors	4

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC PRESENTATIONS	6

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built Environment	6

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural Environment	6

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social Environment	7

Stressors and Health and Weil-Being	7

Recap of Day 1 and What Is Happening in Day 2	7

SUMMARIES OF BREAKOUTSESSIONS	8

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built Environment	8

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural Environment	10

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social Environment	12

Stressors and Health and Weil-Being	13

CLOSING REMARKS	16

KEYTAKEAWAYS FROM THE BREAKOUTSESSIONS	17

REFERENCES	19

APPENDIX A: AGENDA	A-l

APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANTS	B-l

APPENDIX C: PRESENTATIONS	C-l


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ACRONYMS

ACE

Air, Climate and Energy National Research Program

AOP

Adverse outcome pathway

EJ

Environmental Justice

EPA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

HELIX

Human Early-Life Exposome Study

ORD

Office of Research and Development

PCBs

polychlorinated biphenyls

SHC

Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program

StRAP4

Strategic Research Action Plans (4th round of research planning)


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Children are exposed to both chemical and non-chemical stressors at each lifestage
throughout the course of their lives. Exposure to some chemical stressors (e.g., pesticides,
metals, perfluorinated compounds) is routinely measured and assessed. Research on non-
chemical stressors (e.g., poverty, violence, food insecurity, access to greenways and
recreational facilities, health care) is less routine in the context for potential combined
effects with chemical stressors. Research on the interrelationships between chemical and
non-chemical stressors and how these interactions affect health and well-being is still in its
infancy. However, animal research has shown that non-chemical stressors do affect the
biological response to chemical agents and there is every indication that this premise would
be applicable for humans. Additionally, the epidemiological literature incorporates selected
non-chemical stressors as covariates when exploring the links between chemical exposures
and health outcomes.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Office of Research and Development
(ORD) recognized the need to develop an approach to study non-chemical stressors within a
chemical stressor paradigm. Research is needed to identify which non-chemical stressors are
likely to be most relevant, how these non-chemical stressors vary throughout the lifecourse,
and how non-chemical stressors interact with chemical stressors and with other non-
chemical stressors. Researchers in the Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC) National
Research Program were asked to design and hold a workshop to identify key non-chemical
stressors, understand the importance of non-chemical stressors within the chemical
paradigm, and consider how chemical and non-chemical stressors should be combined for
analysis. The workshop participants considered holistic decisions on community health
relevant to children and used the Total Environment framework as an organizing construct.

The workshop planning committee was comprised of ORD researchers from both the SHC
and the Air, Climate and Energy (ACE) National Research Programs who were actively
working to incorporate non-chemical stressors into their research portfolios. Workshop
participants were comprised of experts from academia, non-profit organizations, and
government. The workshop included two keynote presentations - first, an overview of EPA
research on non-chemical stressors, and second, an overview of academic research on non-
chemical stressors - as well as a series of subject specific presentations, including non-
chemical stressors and the built environment, natural environment, and social environment
and stressors, and health and well- being. In addition to the presentations, there were a
series of facilitated breakout sessions to allow for more detailed discussions among
workshop participants.

This report summarizes the two-day virtual workshop wholly devoted to non-chemical
stressors within a chemical stressor paradigm.


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This workshop showed that non-chemical stressors from the built, natural, and social
environments are interrelated and influence each other suggesting the challenge of selecting
the most appropriate non-chemical stressors for research within the chemical stressor
paradigm.

Non-chemical stressors from the social environment are inextricably linked to non-chemical
stressors from the built and natural environments. This workshop stressed the importance of
understanding these interrelationships and appropriately incorporating multiple non-chemical
stressors into the chemical stressor paradigm. Many non-chemical stressors co-occur and there

are many combinations of non-chemical stressors depending on the research question. This
workshop identified four of the most important as being geography (e.g., scale, attributes of
places, spatial patterns of phenomena, and interactions among these), neighborhood
environment and characteristics, housing stock, and racism.

This report is organized into three sections: Session Summaries, Summaries of Breakout
Sessions, and Key Takeaways from the Breakout Sessions. The agenda (Appendix A),
participant list (Appendix B), and presentations (Appendix C) are also included as supporting
materials.

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SESSION SUMMARIES

Wednesday. October 6. 2021
Welcome and Introduction

Wayne Cascio, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr. Wayne Cascio introduced himself, welcomed everyone, and thanked everyone for their
participation in the workshop. Dr. Cascio noted that protecting children's health has always
been a priority at EPA. Children's health is affected by exposures to both chemical and non-
chemical stressors throughout their lifecourse, ultimately affecting educational attainment,
opportunity, and quality of life. There is limited knowledge of the potential for non-chemical
stressors to interact with chemical stressors to yield more substantial and concerning health
effects.

Examples of non-chemical stressors include poverty, inequality, racism, lack of access to food,
and healthcare limitations. There is emerging evidence that non-chemical stressors modify
responses to chemical exposures. Researchers from ORD hosted this workshop to better
understand the plethora of non-chemical stressors and to devote discussion to non-chemical
stressors.

Workshop Goals and Objectives

Nicolle Tulve, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr. Nicolle Tulve introduced herself, thanked the workshop participants, and described the
purpose of the workshop. Dr. Tulve explained research needs and noted that the workshop will
be used for upcoming research planning. The workshop goals include identifying research
needs focused on the role of non-chemical stressors and exploring the state-of-the-science on
non- chemical stressors within a chemical stressor paradigm as it informs children's
environmental health. The workshop objectives include engaging subject matter experts, using
the Total Environment framework (Tulve et al., 2016) construct, and exploring approaches for
designing research activities. Dr. Tulve outlined the Chemical Stressor and Total Environment
frameworks and their relation to children's health. She also explained the differences between
built, natural, and social environments and between chemical and non-chemical stressors. Dr.
Tulve then reviewed the workshop agenda.

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Keynote: Overview ofEPA's Research on Non-Chemical Stressors

Andrew Geller, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr. Andrew Geller defined cumulative risk assessment and discussed EPA's approaches,
including standardization of roles, permitting, program delivery prioritization, resource
allocation, and outreach and analysis research. Dr. Geller noted there is concern among
stakeholder groups that EPA's narrow focus on evaluating risks associated with individual
chemicals in the context of regulatory requirements or isolated action does not accurately
capture risks associated with simultaneous exposures to multiple chemical and non-chemical
stressors.

Dr. Geller discussed EPA's current focus on evaluating the total burden on an individual or
community and described ORD's experience with performing traditional single and multiple
chemical risk assessments and in developing various tools to produce assessments for viruses,
pesticides, air quality, toxicity, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Dr. Geller discussed
ORD's development of new methods to consider cumulative chemical exposure impacts and
EPA's use of indices to incorporate other domains and allow for a broader understanding of the
environment. Dr. Gellerthen displayed a cumulative impact conceptual diagram illustrating the
complex interactions between components and outlined factors for consideration when
determining cumulative impacts on health, well-being, and quality of life. Dr. Geller noted the
importance of considering stakeholder input when making decisions about interventions.

Dr. Geller next discussed the exposome, providing examples of current outcome-based
research and outlining additional future research issues. Dr. Geller described research on
neighborhood stressors that result in accelerated aging, and research on neighborhood
revitalization demonstrating that multiple health determinants can be addressed during land
revitalization planning and design. Dr. Geller emphasized the importance of a community-
engaged approach for effective neighborhood revitalization and explained how such research
is useful to other programs, policies and decisions, such as brownfields, permitting, or
community capacity.

Dr. Geller concluded that ORD expects cumulative risk, cumulative impacts, and support for
communities with environmental justice (EJ) concerns both nationally and locally to be priorities
within StRAP 4 planning. Dr. Geller's slides are included in Appendix C.

Keynote: Overview of Academic Research on Non-Chemical Stressors

Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, North Carolina State University

Dr. Jennifer Richmond-Bryant provided an overview of the exposome as a tool for studying
childhood exposures. Dr. Richmond-Bryant defined cumulative risk, multiple agents, and
chemical and non-chemical stressors. Dr. Richmond-Bryant provided examples of physical,
biological, and social non-chemical stressors that can be used in a framework to evaluate
health impacts and coping capacity. Dr. Richmond-Bryant described a conceptual model of
exposure assessment in environmental epidemiology, where personal exposure represents


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the entire exposure history, and explained how chemicals interact with psychosocial factors,
receptors, stressors, and internal doses. Dr. Richmond-Bryant noted the difficulty of fully
measuring exposure, the importance of social factors in this model, and the role of pollution
in confounding stress indicators.

Dr. Richmond-Bryant compared the exposome to the human genome and noted that the
exposome has different domains related to health risks and risk across communities. This risk
profile involves interactions between the external environment and the internal environment
to determine a health risk assessment. Within an epidemiology framework, as one moves
from individual to population-level outcomes, layers of data become evident. These layers
include personal attributes, ambient conditions, biological mechanisms, and moderating and
mediating factors.

Dr. Richmond-Bryant next discussed the Exposomics Consortium, which focuses on
technology assessments, multipollutant effect approaches, dose-response relationships,
causal determinations, and general lifecourse epidemiology. The Exposomics study design
includes public health perspectives, characteristics of exposure, and mechanisms for
responding to the exposure. The research process involves assessing individual exposures,
outdoor exposures, integrated molecular exposure signatures, exposome links to child
health, the role of socioeconomic status, and the health impacts of multiple exposures. Dr.
Richmond-Bryant then provided an overview of the Human Early-Life Exposome (HELIX)
study that used models of exposure pathways to analyze large numbers of chemical and non-
chemical stressors and understand child health risk and the burden of childhood disease. Dr.
Richmond-Bryant discussed several other exposome-wide association studies, some
measuring the health effects of pollution and lead.

Dr. Richmond-Bryant concluded her presentation by stating that frameworks exist for
studying cumulative or concurrent ambient and nonambient exposure groupings, models
exist for studying multiple exposures and health effects, models can be used to improve the
validity of results, and these approaches and others can be used to study how chemical and
non-chemical stressors influence children's health. Dr. Richmond-Bryant's slides are included
in Appendix C.

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SUBJECT-SPECIFIC PRESENTATIONS

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built Environment

Adrienne Hollis, Union of Concerned Scientists

Dr. Adrienne Hollis discussed non-chemical stressors in the built environment and her work
at the intersection of climate change, environmental justice, and health. Dr. Hollis discussed
the relationships between structural racism, race and place, environmental justice issues,
climate change, and environmental stressors that form a syndemic; here a network of issues
that lead to adverse health effects. Dr. Hollis explained how the underlying factor of racism
affects all aspects of life and that environmental racism is not new. Dr. Hollis listed multiple
stressors from the built environment that impact health, including racism, poverty, jobs,
economics, education, infrastructure, food and water scarcity, greenspace, transportation,
extreme weather, displacement, safety, and issues associated with mental and physical
health. Dr. Hollis

emphasized that climate change is an exacerbating factor associated with environmental
justice and human health. Dr. Hollis' slides are included in Appendix C.

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural Environment

Susan Yee, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr. Susan Yee discussed how components of the natural environment impact human health and
well-being. Where ecological and human interactions intersect, the specific attributes of the
natural environment, how those attributes are used, and who benefits are all factors affecting
health and well-being. Dr. Yee discussed ways in which the natural environment might alter the
effect of chemical stressors, including changing exposures, decreasing individual vulnerability to
chemical stressors, and providing natural alternatives that reduce the need for chemicals. Dr.
Yee then discussed a case study in San Juan, Puerto Rico that investigated whether actions to
restore estuary hydrology, wetland habitat, and greenspace might benefit human health and
well-being. The study used a structured decision-making framework to guide the research. Dr.
Yee explained how local communities helped identify the stressors to prioritize for study. Dr.
Yee summarized study results which found that managing the natural environment can benefit
human health and well-being, that the natural environment can provide sustainable alternatives
to chemical use, and that the social and built environment can either exacerbate or buffer
natural environment effects. Dr. Yee's slides are included in Appendix C.

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Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social Environment

Ami Zota, George Washington University

Dr. Ami Zota provided a presentation on integrating intersectionality into the exposome. Dr.
Zota discussed how some communities have successfully integrated environmental justice and
science to drive policy. Dr. Zota discussed racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities
associated with exposures, including to air pollution, polychlorinated biphenyls, lead,
perfluorinated alkyl substances, phthalates and para bens, and flame retardants. Dr. Zota
discussed how an intersectionality exposome framework can help identify health disparities.
Dr. Zota then discussed the Taking Stock study, a community-based research project to
enhance what is known about the products women use every day and how these products
contribute to disparities in health. The study examines product use, exposures, risks, and social
and structural determinants as an environmental justice concern. Dr. Zota concluded by
stating that the intersectionality exposome framework will help achieve environmental justice
by advancing innovation in research, policy, and training. Dr. Zota's slides are included in
Appendix C.

Stressors and Health and Well-Being

Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, Indiana University

Dr. Jackie MacDonald Gibson discussed a North Carolina case study on access to regulated
water supply in which she has been involved. Dr. MacDonald Gibson described the case study's
research objectives, methods, results, and potential resulting solutions and explained it was
supported by an EPA grant. The project examines racial under-bounding and exclusion from
water service as non-chemical stressors and drivers of chemical stress. Research focuses on
the effects of stressors on children's health and well-being and uses a total environment
framework. Dr. MacDonald Gibson shared results of the study, which indicated that exclusion
from municipal water service increases early-life exposure to lead in drinking water, that
exposure increases adolescent delinquency risk, and that solutions, such as education
intervention, maintaining water filtration, and extending community water service, exist but
are not without problems. Dr. MacDonald Gibson's slides are included in Appendix C.

Thursday. October 7. 2021

Recap of Day 1 and What Is Happening in Day 2

Nicolle Tulve, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr. Tulve welcomed everyone to the second day of the workshop. Dr. Tulve reviewed the Day 1
presentations and provided a preview of Day 2. Dr. Tulve discussed breakout session logistics
and reviewed the breakout session questions. Dr. Tulve then explained the differences
between built, natural, and social environments before reviewing the workshop schedule and
agenda.


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SUMMARIES OF BREAKOUT SESSIONS

The Total Environment framework is a systems approach for organizing and integrating
chemical and non-chemical stressors, inherent characteristics, and activities and behaviors in
describing health and well-being. Chemical and non-chemical stressors can come from the
built, natural, and social environments, collectively referred to as the total environment
(Tulve et al., 2016). The components of the Total Environment framework are the foundation
for research addressing cumulative impacts (U.S. EPA, 2022).

The emphasis of this workshop was on non-chemical stressors within a chemical stressor
paradigm. This section summarizes the discussions from each of four breakout groups.
Workshop participants were assigned to one of four groups. Each group rotated through
every topic (e.g., non-chemical stressors from the built environment; non-chemical stressors
from the natural environment; non-chemical stressors from the social environment; stressors
and health and well-being). Each breakout session was led by the presenter of that subject-
specific topic, subject matter experts from the workshop planning group, and a facilitator. A
notetaker recorded the discussion in each session. The subject matter experts from the
workshop planning group then distilled the four session discussions into one summary on
that specific topic.

The summaries are organized around the breakout discussion questions:

1.	Which non-chemical stressors (from the built, natural, social environments) should
be the focus of research associated with chemical stressors? What is the rationale
for choosing those specific non-chemical stressors?

2.	What are the criteria for selecting non-chemical stressors for research within the
chemical stressor paradigm?

3.	Which non-chemical stressors are surrogates for other non-chemical stressors or
conditions in the community environment? And how should these stressors be
managed?

4.	Which combination of co-occurring non-chemical stressors should be the focus of
research within the chemical stressor paradigm?

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built Environment

Stressors:

•	Access issues - healthy food, heat, housing accessibility, information/resources

•	Climate change - flooding of infrastructure, heat

•	Displacement

•	Infrastructure - quality/use, types (housing, storage systems, water infrastructure,
industrialized ag), lighting, placement (proximity to other sites, urban/rural)

•	Land use and green space, including access to green space and quality of
vegetation around the built environment

•	Living conditions - heat, lighting, noise, odor, dust

•	Physical activity

•	Redlined areas

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•	Transit - placement, availability, access, traffic

•	Warnings about not drinking water or swimming in rivers

The workshop participants also discussed the challenges, acknowledging that stressors vary
between populations and settings, and stressors may be beneficial or harmful depending on
these or other characteristics. Stressors can also operate through multiple pathways at the
same time.

It's important to approach this research carefully because there are complex interrelationships
and nuances.

Criteria: There was general agreement that the focus should be on the neighborhood scale and
that it is important to directly engage with communities to ask them what stressors are
important to them. It is also important to think about transferability across communities and
feasibility of defining and measuring stressors. Other ideas included an approach focused on a
logical pathway to drive selection, such as an adverse outcome pathway, and using decision-
based criteria to determine which stressors are most relevant to the program. The value of
engaging social scientists when working with a community to identify health concerns was also
noted. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and perhaps a suite of variables can be a
starting point for discussion with a focus group using an open-ended information gathering
approach. We discussed how we might need data before we are able to select pathways of
interest, how many stressors operate through multiple pathways, and how it is challenging to
distinguish between built, natural, and social stressors. A lot of non-chemical stressors
represent mediators or moderators with different source pathways; these are stressors that
ORD should focus on.

Potential surrogates: We discussed noise, heat (or lack thereof), housing, levels of education,
and poverty (e.g., related to quality of the built environment) as potential surrogates, while also
recognizing that everything is interrelated. It is hard to disentangle social stressors from built
environment stressors, and both place and population are important. There might be different
ways to address problems at state or regional levels, and one set of metrics may not be
realistic. The decision (e.g., regulation) may guide the choice of surrogates.

Combinations and co-occurring stressors: Neighborhoods are an ideal unit of analysis;
neighborhood scale can bring focus on stressor combinations and co-occurrence, perhaps
through consideration of housing. We also discussed neighborhood-level exposures, poverty,
and climate change. Thinking about how to pair non-chemical stressors and their impact on the
quantitative piece is key. If we are considering built environment features that people have
subjective reactions to, it is hard to have a systematic definition as different racial and ethnic
groups might have different interpretations of their neighborhoods or housing. The same is true
for poverty, crime, and education levels, and these may be covariates to each other.
Overlapping associations between covariates and associated stressors makes it difficult to
separate them out into impact.

There are also questions about the underlying issues that cause regional differences and we
do not know exactly what those differences represent. There may be challenges if we are

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trying to apply wider scale frameworks nationally. Or there may be a logical group of non-
chemical stressors to consider across the board.

Applying an Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) network centered around defined adverse
outcomes and identifying factors affecting those pathways could be another approach to
selecting combinations of non-chemical stressors for research. For example, asthma is an
adverse outcome, and we could map out the various stressors that contribute to asthma and
collectively examine those to determine the most important contributors to reducing asthma.

Above all, our groups emphasized the importance of making progress in understanding the role
of non-chemical stressors and the need to avoid analysis paralysis and letting the perfect be
the enemy of the good.

Facilitated by: Adrienne Hollis, Union of Concerned Scientists; Sarah Mazur, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency; Angie Shatas, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;

Michael Nye, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural Environment

Stressors:

•	Biodiversity

•	Climate change, climate variability, natural disasters, extreme weather events

•	Ecosystem services

•	Green and blue space

•	Noise

•	Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and other empirical methods

•	Revitalization of nature

•	Tree canopy, sunshine, heat, temperature control, walkability (which links to the
built environment)

We discussed the need to focus not just on which stressors to choose but also on mitigating the
stressors and identifying solutions that can impact how communities cope. We identified two
approaches: 1) reduce stressor to reduce harm; and 2) identify and employ interventions. We
need to keep both approaches in mind because addressing an effect without addressing the
source could result in unpredictable results. For the intervention component, we need to
understand the system to know where to intervene, e.g., intervene upstream at the root causes
or choose more immediate interventions. We need to use a translational science approach to
define criteria and types of stressors, and document decision-making behind selected
interventions to improve the science to support decision-making and employ a systematic
approach to target investments to address disparities in those experiencing higher exposures to
non-chemical stressors.

Criteria: There was consensus that the focus should be on generating and using criteria to
prioritize non-chemical stressors for research rather than generating a list. Prioritization
approaches included spending effort thinking about what more we can learn mechanistically

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while also thinking about delivering a program that will have an impact on communities in the
short term. Criteria should be developed around community needs combined with what we
know about the environment. Criteria should include using qualitative research to explore what
communities think are important stressors, employing this research as foundational and likely
the first step in understanding cumulative impacts. Listening to community members provides
contextual insights that researchers do not have.

Potential surrogates: We discussed potential surrogates for the natural environment including:

•	Green and blue space, their connection with chemical exposures, their ability to
influence vulnerability to exposures, their effect on health and well-being, access and
who benefits, effect on gentrification, displacement, and community cohesion.

•	Biodiversity as a potential marker of stressors (equivalent to poverty for non-chemical
stressors).

•	The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).

•	Climate variability and change and relationship to exposures in the environment
(interactions with air quality, water quality, other chemicals); tracking climate patterns
over the long-term, selecting the right metrics that capture the stress they produce in both
individuals and communities.

•	Ecosystem services and their benefits.

However, hearing from the community about how they use greenspace is most important to help
develop appropriate surrogate measures.

We examined the concept of resilience and the need to consider stressors, interventions,
and solutions together holistically, and think about strategies that fit into the legal
frameworks to which we are bound. In terms of identifying key stressors, we discussed the
use of conceptual models and building integrative models to conduct more complex
systems research and more human-environment interaction research to identify
interconnections.

One key takeaway is the need to work with communities and treat them as partners.
We discussed the need to balance scientific expertise and local knowledge, and how
natural environment solutions might be particularly challenging to implement.

Combinations and co-occurring stressors: We discussed aggregating data from multiple sources
into a single database, the need to understand how vulnerable populations are affected,
institutional challenges in determining where to focus our efforts, whether to pursue short-
term management versus long-term interventions, and the similarities between the built,
natural, and social environments. We also talked about what we thought the building blocks for
studying non- chemical stressors need to be. We mentioned ecosystem services as a way to
facilitate a shift from focusing solely on chemical stressors to the entire context of people living
in the environment. We discussed vulnerability and our statutory authorities to determine

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issues of immediate concern versus lower priority concerns. We also discussed community
engagement and how to conduct research that promotes community ownership, is mutually
beneficial, and that leaves communities better off.

Facilitated by: Susan Yee, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Matthew Harwell, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency; Susan Julius, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social Environment

Stressors:

•	Disability

•	Discrimination, environmental injustice, historical redlining,
marginalization

•	Education

•	Health care

•	Housing

•	Low income/social status

•	Policies

•	Poverty

•	Racism

•	Social cohesion, gentrification

•	Underserved populations/communities

Social stressors influence and interact with all other components in the Total Environment
framework. They determine how we are exposed to both chemical and non-chemical stressors
from the built and natural environments. For example, racism or discrimination may influence
people's access to safe drinking water, healthy food, or green spaces and may increase
exposures to contaminants like lead found in the built environment. Spatial and temporal
aspects of non- chemical stressors from the social environment are important and must be
considered holistically for cumulative impacts. Policies (e.g., the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, federal housing assistance) can act as either stressors exacerbating
negative outcomes or as buffers that reduce negative outcomes.

Criteria: We need research that examines both upstream and downstream factors. For
example, if racism is an upstream stressor that leads to residential segregation, which then
affects environmental health, how do we identify the modifiable factors that EPA could/should
address? Those might be things that operate at a downstream level, like geographically
targeted control strategies for sources of pollution that result in higher exposures in
communities of color. This would address a manifestation of segregation and other structural
inequities rather than the root cause. We could also examine effect modifiers and mediators
and other factors that contribute to background processes and affect the dose response. It is
important to have a conceptual model and be outcome driven to make sure that what is being
measured is relevant. Perhaps a chemical- agnostic adverse outcome pathway (AOP) could
point to appropriate non-chemical stressors. For place-based research we need to involve the
community. There is also the need to break new ground on issues such as mental health.

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Potential surrogates: Policies themselves can be surrogates for non-chemical stressors. Our
discussion of surrogates was challenging, but we agreed that policies affect exposures, as
stressors or buffers, and can be health determinants. For example, housing policy affects
exposure to lead-based paint. We are describing a paradigm shift by incorporating social
stressors where factors such as policy influence health determinants and health outcomes, and
these have quantifiable, measurable effects.

In addition to policies, other tools might also be useful, and we must think about what
knowledge will be needed to pursue such tools. We talked about local problem-solving research
where qualitative research can help to shed light on issues and help develop ways to define and
measure stressors. Understanding the role of perception is also important, and an important
role for social sciences, as different groups and individuals perceive potential stressors and how
they affect health differently.

Combinations and co-occurring stressors: We talked about the connection between low-
income minority communities and environmental hazards, and that these are often combined
with elevated exposures to chemicals due to historical and systemic racism. When we examine
pollution levels in different places, we talked about the need to connect those results with
other upstream factors such as racial segregation and historic disinvestment to get at root
causes and address modifiable factors. We discussed how our research could support
cumulative decision making by addressing social and psychological factors that affect health
outcomes. We agreedthat social determinants of health are a suite of factors that should be
addressed when studying the effects of chemical exposures. We also discussed the need to
understand the impact of policies (such as housing policy) and their interactions on economic
and social structures and the potential to ameliorate or exacerbate chemical and non-chemical
stressors. Qualitative research can be used to reveal community needs and be used together
with quantitative research and risk analysis to specify mechanisms and how they affect health
outcomes. We argued that both approaches are needed so that researchers have the context
to understand what drives decisions and actions. To move this research forward, we discussed
the need to take an intersectional perspective and develop integrative models of social
stressors and their interaction with other stressors.

Facilitated by: Ami Zota, George Washington University; Intaek Hahn, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency; Emily Eisenhauer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Stressors and Health and Well-Being

Stressors:

•	Access to resources

•	Geography/geographic specificity (e.g., scale, attributes of places, spatial patterns
of phenomena, and interactions among these)

•	Housing

•	Infrastructure, physical structures

•	Mental health

13


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•	Parenting (parents as a source of or protection from stressors for their children)

•	Peer relationships (especially for children)

•	Racism

•	School environment

•	Sleep

•	Social context

•	Social isolation

•	Violence

Differential exposures driven by racism impact peoples' lives and our ability to measure and
evaluate stressors. We also explored social context as a key non-chemical stressor. Geographic
specificity affects infrastructure, housing, and other aspects of the community environment.

Criteria: Every community has a unique combination of non-chemical stressors. We talked
about the actual stressors (only some of which may relate to outcomes), understanding their
range of impact and using a systematic approach to determine what stressors to include. We
discussed the concept of a "mothership of stressors" stemming from multiple interactions
occurring at once that we could use to isolate different downstream non-chemical stressors.
We discussed the idea of threshold effects and whether there is a saturation point after which
people cannot take any more stress and their individual health is compromised and how
resilience affects people's perceived levels of stress. We also discussed methods. We talked
about partnering with communities and strengthening the idea that research should not be
conducted in isolation but with the relevant partners. There is also the need to develop
qualitative guidelines for considering non-chemical stressors, specifically emotional, social, and
political ones. We talked about biomarkers, allostatic load, systems approaches and
computational methods, such as machine learning for managing large datasets. Lastly, we
talked about using causal framework models to select stressors. Overall, we covered a lot of
ground, but one takeaway is that this is an extremely complicated area.

Potential surrogates: Geography (e.g., scale, attributes of places, spatial patterns of
phenomena, and interactions among these) may be a surrogate for several non-chemical
stressors related to the built, natural, and social environments. The neighborhood and its
characteristics could be a surrogate for several non-chemical stressors.

Combinations and co-occurring stressors: We discussed the interrelationships between racism,
geography, policy, the built environment, and health and well-being. Geography is an important
factor when considering many other non-chemical stressors. We argued that lifetime
experiences and causal relationships should be incorporated into our biological models when
exploring health and well-being. We had multiple discussions around guidelines for conducting
science and how non-chemical stressors should be specifically addressed in those guidelines.
Racism, poverty, and lack of resources are co-occurring stressors and we discussed how these

14


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combined stressors would each contribute to vulnerability. There are combinations of non-
chemical stressors related to economics (e.g., income, occupation, education level). We
discussed how the importance of resilience factors into the interrelationships between
chemical and non-chemical stressors.

Animal models may be one way to explore combinations and co-occurring stressors.

Facilitated by: Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, Indiana University; Nicolle Tulve, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency; Jonathan Essoka, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

15


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CLOSING REMARKS

Maureen Gwinn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Bryan Hubbell, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency

Maureen Gwinn: Because of this important topic of non-chemical stressors, SHC's team
worked closely with our Air, Climate and Energy (ACE) team to develop this content. Thank
you to Nicolle Tulve and her team for compiling this. On Wednesday, we heard six impactful
talks covering non-chemical stressors and their impacts on health and well-being. These laid
the groundwork for discussion and were very well done. The recaps covered consistent
themes of issues related to the impact of structural racism, defining the unit of analysis,
transferability and scalability of this work, and the importance of qualitative and quantitative
research.

Congratulations to everyone who provided input and expertise. This is an important and
timely topic because these are administrative and presidential priorities, and this workshop
has advanced our thinking on the topics. In the research planning cycle, we are at the stage
of refining our outputs in SHC in Topic 3 which has a strong focus on cumulative impacts.
Research Areas 9 and 10 will bring in a lot of what we learned today. We are working with
ACE to coordinate and collaborate as we move forward.

Sherri Hunt: The ACE program is working to address climate and social impact. From what I
have heard today, understanding the fine scale is important to understanding impacts. People
also discussed how climate impacted the natural and built environment, and the topic of
resilience. To broadly cover the ACE program, one topic of focus is understanding air
pollution and climate change and their impacts on human health. Under this topic, Research
Area 1 covers pollution.

We will be working closely with Maureen and her team on deciding what research belongs in
the ACE and SHC plots. I have confidence in our many intelligent scientists and know we will
work hard and creatively. Please review the research planning intranet site. If you have an
idea, please feel free to reach out to me. I am quite optimistic about being able to link things
together.

Maureen Gwinn: The complexity of these interactions between the national research
programs adds a layer of uncertainty when considering to whom you should propose ideas.
We are here to help and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. As a reminder, we plan
to report out from this workshop. It is important to think big. We have a great opportunity to
expand our boundaries.

Nicolle Tulve: Thank you to the facilitators and planners who put this workshop together and
to all the participants. I look forward to speaking with everyone later in the month!

16


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KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE BREAKOUT SESSIONS

•	Environmental protection encompasses both chemical and non-chemical stressors
since it is the lived experience of individuals and communities that influences their
health and well-being. Therefore, a systems approach and integrative model(s) are
essential for incorporating non-chemical stressors into the chemical stressor paradigm
to protect human health and the environment.

•	The Total Environment framework can be used to organize research focused on
cumulative impacts where all stressors need to be considered. All aspects of the built,
natural, and social environments should be considered when exploring how chemical
and non-chemical stressors influence health, well-being, and quality of life.

•	This workshop showed that non-chemical stressors from the built, natural, and social
environments are interrelated and influence each other suggesting the challenge of
selecting the most appropriate non-chemical stressors for research within the
chemical stressor paradigm.

•	Non-chemical stressors from the social environment are inextricably linked to non-
chemical stressors from the built and natural environments. This workshop stressed
the importance of understanding these interrelationships and appropriately
incorporating multiple non-chemical stressors into the chemical stressor paradigm.

•	Many non-chemical stressors co-occur and there are many combinations of non-
chemical stressors depending on the research question. This workshop identified four
of the most important as being geography (e.g., scale, attributes of places, spatial
patterns of phenomena, and interactions among these), neighborhood environment and
characteristics, housing stock, and racism.

o Non-chemical stressors may be geography-dependent (e.g., non-chemical
stressors in an urban environment may be different than those found in a rural
or suburban environment), reinforcing the importance of place and factors
associated with place when selecting non-chemical stressors,
o Non-chemical stressors from the built environment depend on many factors
including the geographic location, the population of interest, and the construct
of the built environment.

•	Research on how social stressors may impact health, well-being, and quality of life
should include both upstream causes (e.g., racism, low income, policies) and
downstream outcomes/solutions (e.g., decision-making, intervention, policy(ies) that
would lead to environmental justice and improved health, well-being, and quality of
life).

•	Research to develop a new approach to cumulative impact assessment based on social
stressors (e.g., social determinants of health) should be developed.

•	Establish criteria to identify social stressors and develop models that may be
important for the U.S. EPA to consider in its research, regulatory decision-makings,
and remediation/restoration/revitalization practices.

•	Develop an ontology to classify and categorize social stressors.

17


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•	Identify non-chemical stressors from the social environment that are reproducible and
transportable between sites in the United States and abroad to characterize social
environments.

•	Identify non-chemical stressors from the built and natural environments that are
comparable between sites in the United States and internationally.

•	Identify non-chemical stressors, such as access to greenspace, that can be early flags of
positive (improved health) or negative impacts (gentrification).

•	Consider ecosystem services within any assessment of chemical exposures to capture
the entire environment within which people live.

•	Climate change interacts with many chemical and non-chemical stressors to amplify
their impact on health, well-being, and quality of life and therefore needs to be
considered when assessing cumulative exposures.

•	Conduct studies that explore how policy(ies) should be structured and implemented in
an all-of-government approach to maximize children's health and well-being.

•	Approaches and methodologies for analyzing quantitative and qualitative data and
information are essential for advancing our understanding of non-chemical stressors
within the chemical stressor paradigm.

•	This workshop identified resilience, mitigation, and solutions as key concepts when
identifying and exploring non-chemical stressors and their applicability to understanding
health, well-being, and quality of life outcomes.

18


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REFERENCES

Tulve NS, Ruiz JDC, Lichtveld K, Darney SP, Quackenboss JJ. Development of a conceptual
framework depicting a child's total (built, natural, social) environment in order to optimize
health and well-being. Journal of Environment and Health Sciences 2016; 2(2): 1-8.
https://doi.org/10.15436/2378-6841.16.1121.

U.S. EPA. Cumulative Impacts Research: Recommendations for EPA's Office of Research and
Development. Washington, D.C.: U.S. EPA; 2022.
https://www.epa.gov/healthresearch/cumulative-impacts-research.

19


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APPENDIX A: AGENDA

United States Environmental Protection Agency
Evaluating Non-Chemical Stressors for Children's Environmental Health Protection
Virtual Workshop Summary Meeting Agenda - October 6-7,2021 Virtual

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Time (EDT)

Topic

Speaker

9:45-10:00 AM

Sign on, Technology Check

Contractor

10:00-10:15 AM

Welcome and Introduction
Set the Stage

Wayne Cascio, U.S. EPA
Chris Frey, U.S. EPA

10:15-10:30 AM

Workshop Goals and Objectives

Nicolle Tulve, U.S. EPA

10:30-11:30 AM

Keynote: Overview of EPA's Research on Non-
Chemical Stressors

Andrew Geller, U.S. EPA

11:30AM-12:30 PM

Keynote: Overview of Academic Research on Non-
Chemical Stressors

Jennifer Richmond-Bryant,
North Carolina State University

12:30-12:45 PM

Q&A, Discussion, Brainstorming Time on Mural

All

12:45-1:30 PM

Lunch Break, Brainstorming Time on Mural

All

1:30-2:30 PM

Subject Specific Presentations & Q&A

1.	Stressors and Health and Weil-Being

2.	Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural
environment

Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson,
Indiana University
Susan Yee, U.S. EPA

2:30-2:35 PM

Q&A, Brainstorming Time on Mural

All

2:35-2:45 PM

Break, Brainstorming Time on Mural

All

2:45-3:45 PM

Subject Specific Presentations & Q&A

3.	Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social
environment

4.	Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built
Environment

Ami Zota, George Washington
University

Adrienne Hollis, Union of
Concerned Scientists

3:45-4:45 pm

Q&A, Discussion, Brainstorming Time on Mural

All

4:45-5:00 PM

End of Day Regroup

Facilitators, Workshop Planning
Group

5:00 PM

Adjourn



Thursday, October 7,2021

Time (EDT)

Topic

Facilitator

9:30-9:45 AM

Sign on, Technology Check

Contractor

9:45-10:00 AM

Recap of Day #1 and What's Happening in Day #2

Nicolle Tulve

10:00-11:00 AM

Breakout Session 1:

1: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built
Environment

SMEs: Adrienne Hollis, Sarah Mazur, Angie Shatas,
Michael Nye

Jeri Weiss



Time (EDT)

Topic

Facilitator

A-l


-------


Contractor Support: Karen Setty (SME), Leah West





(Zoom logistics; detailed notetaker)





2: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural

Marty Chintala



Environment





SMEs: Susan Yee, Matthew Harwell, Susan Julius





Contractor Support: Samantha Snow (SME), Grace





Cooney (Zoom logistics; detailed notetaker)





3: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social

Karen Goldberg



Environment





SMEs: Ami Zota, Intaek Hahn, Emily Eisenhauer





Contractor Support: Lisa Prince (SME), Afroditi





Katsigiannakis (Zoom logistics; detailed





notetaker)





4: Stressors and Health and Well-Being

Claudia Gutierrez



SMEs: Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, NicolleTulve,





Jonathan Essoka





Contractor Support: Jess Wignall (SME), Kathryn Van





Artsdalen (Zoom logistics; detailed





notetaker)



11:00-12:00 PM

Breakout Session 2:





1: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built

Jeri Weiss



Environment





SMEs: Adrienne Hollis, Sarah Mazur, Angie Shatas,





Michael Nye





Contractor Support: Karen Setty (SME), Leah West





(Zoom logistics; detailed notetaker)





2: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural

Marty Chintala



Environment





SMEs: Susan Yee, Matthew Harwell, Susan Julius





Contractor Support: Samantha Snow (SME), Grace





Cooney (Zoom logistics; detailed notetaker)





3: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social

Karen Goldberg



Environment





SMEs: Ami Zota, Intaek Hahn, Emily Eisenhauer





Contractor Support: Lisa Prince (SME), Afroditi





Katsigiannakis (Zoom logistics; detailed





notetaker)





4: Stressors and Health and Well-Being

Claudia Gutierrez



SMEs: Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, NicolleTulve,





Jonathan Essoka





Contractor Support: Jess Wignall (SME), Kathryn Van





Artsdalen (Zoom logistics; detailed





notetaker)



12:00-12:15 PM

Discussion, Q&A, Brainstorming Time on Mural

All

12:15-1:00 PM

Lunch Break

All

1:00-2:00 PM

Breakout Session 3:





1: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built

Jeri Weiss



Environment





SMEs: Adrienne Hollis, Sarah Mazur, Angie Shatas,





Michael Nye



A-2


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Time (EDT)

Topic

Facilitator



Contractor Support: Karen Setty (SME), Leah West

(Zoom logistics; detailed notetaker)
2: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural
Environment

SMEs: Susan Yee, Matthew Harwell, Susan Julius
Contractor Support: Samantha Snow (SME), Grace

Cooney (Zoom logistics; detailed notetaker)
3: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social
Environment

SMEs: Ami Zota, Intaek Hahn, Emily Eisenhauer
Contractor Support: Lisa Prince (SME), Afroditi
Katsigiannakis (Zoom logistics; detailed
notetaker)

4: Stressors and Health and Well-Being
SMEs: Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, NicolleTulve,
Jonathan Essoka

Contractor Support: Jess Wignall (SME), Kathryn Van
Artsdalen (Zoom logistics; detailed
notetaker)

Marty Chintala
Karen Goldberg

Claudia Gutierrez

2:00-3:00 PM

Breakout Session 4:

1: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Built
Environment

SMEs: Adrienne Hollis, Sarah Mazur, Angie Shatas,
Michael Nye

Contractor Support: Karen Setty (SME), Leah West

(Zoom logistics; detailed notetaker)
2: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Natural
Environment

SMEs: Susan Yee, Matthew Harwell, Susan Julius
Contractor Support: Samantha Snow (SME), Grace

Cooney (Zoom logistics; detailed notetaker)
3: Non-Chemical Stressors from the Social
Environment

SMEs: Ami Zota, Intaek Hahn, Emily Eisenhauer
Contractor Support: Lisa Prince (SME), Afroditi
Katsigiannakis (Zoom logistics; detailed
notetaker)

4: Stressors and Health and Well-Being
SMEs: Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, NicolleTulve,
Jonathan Essoka

Contractor Support: Jess Wignall (SME), Kathryn Van
Artsdalen (Zoom logistics; detailed
notetaker)

Jeri Weiss

Marty Chintala
Karen Goldberg

Claudia Gutierrez

3:00-3:15 PM

Break



3:15-4:15 PM

Preliminary high-level report out from each
breakout session



4:15-4:45 PM

Closing remarks

Maureen Gwinn, U.S. EPA
Bryan Hubbell, U.S. EPA

4:45 PM

Adjourn



A-3


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APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANTS

U.S. Environmental Protection

Caroline Baier-Anderson
Timothy Barzyk
Ann Carroll Marty
Chintala Emily
Eisenhauer
Jonathan Essoka
Aimen Farraj
Michael Firestone
Stiven Foster
Andrew Geller
Karen Goldberg
Tywanna Greene
Carol Ann Gross-Davis
Claudia Gutierrez
Maureen Gwinn
Intaek Hahn

Agency Attendees:

Matthew Harwell
Cheryl Hawkins
Joel Hoffman
Adrienne Hollis
Bryan Hubbell
Sherri Hunt
Annie Jarabek
Sabrina Johnson
Susan Julius
Urmila Kodavanti
Charles Lee
Nicholas Loschin
Tom Luben
Sarah Mazur
Onyemaechi Nweke
Michael Nye

Beth Owens
Sean Paul
Elizabeth Poole
Steven Prince
Kristen Rappazzo
Victoria Robinson
Angie Shatas
Sheryl Stohs
Danielle Suarez
John Thomas
Nicolle Tulve
Jeri Weiss
Kathleen Williams
Susan Yee

Other Attendees:

Juan Antonio Aguilera
Mendoza
Allison Appleton
Jane Clougherty
Deborah A. Cory-Slechta
Pam Factor-Litvak
Akhgar Ghassabian

Perry Hystad
Chandra Jackson
Jonathan Levy
Jacqueline MacDonald

Gibson
Hilary Marusak
Meredith McCormack

Junenette L. Peters
Jennifer Richmond-Bryant
Isadore Leslie Rubin
Tina Sindher
Ami Zota

Contractor Support:

Canden Byrd
Grace Cooney
Anthony Hannani
Afroditi Katsigiannakis
Lisa Prince
Megan Rooney

Karen Setty
Samantha Snow
Kathryn Van Artsdalen
Leah West
Jess Wignall

B-l


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APPENDIX C: PRESENTATIONS

*>EPA

Cumulative Assessment

including
Non-chemical Stressors

Andrew M. Geller, Ph.D.

Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA

October 6, 2021

l

i&EPA Range of Needs and Assessments

Assessment of cumulative impacts or risks can be useful for different types of decisions.

Figure 2. Spectrum of EJ Integration Approaches,

Using a "Fit-for-Purpose" Continuum

From Confronting Disproportionate Impacts and Systemic Racism in Environmental Policy.
2 Charles Lee. (51) Environmental Law Reporter. 2021.


-------


v>E

PA Cumulative Risk Assessment













1



Cumulative Risk Assessment: An analysis,
characterization, and possible
quantification of the combined risks to
human health or the environment from





M

multiple agents or stressors (U.S. EPA
2003)



3











EPA Publications on CRA





EPA Publication





Guidelines for the Health Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures (U.S. EPA 1986b)





Supplementary Guidance for Conducting Health Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures (U.S. EPA 2000c)





Conducting a Risk Assessment of Mixtures of Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) for Drinking Water Treatment Systems (U.S. EPA
2000a)





Risk Assessment for Superfund Sites (RAGS) (U.S. EPA 1989)





Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment (U.S. EPA 1998a)





Guidance on Cumulative Risk Assessment. Part 1. Planning and Scoping (Browner 1997; U.S. EPA 1997a)





Lessons Learned on Planning and Scoping for Environmental Risk Assessments (U.S. EPA 2002c)





General Principles for Performing Aggregate Exposure and Risk Assessments (U.S. EPA 2001a)





Guidance on Cumulative Risk Assessment of Pesticide Chemicals That Have a Common Mechanism of Toxicity (U.S. EPA 2002a)





Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment (U.S. EPA 2003b)





A Framework For Assessing Health Risk of Environmental Exposures To Children (U.S. EPA 2006c)





Concepts, Methods, and Data Sources for Cumulative Health Risk Assessment of Multiple Chemicals, Exposures and Effects (U.S.
EPA 2007a)



4

Framework for Human Health Risk Assessment to Inform Decision Making (U.S. EPA 2014b)





Pesticide Cumulative Risk Assessment: Framework for Screening Analysis (U.S. EPA 2016)



C-2


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Risk assessment applications in EPA "are often centered
on evaluating risks associated with individual chemicals
in the context of regulatory requirements or isolated
actions..."

There is concern "among stakeholder groups (especially
communities affected by environmental exposure) that
such a narrow focus does not accurately capture the
risks associated with exposure, given simultaneous
exposure to multiple chemical and nonchemical
stressors and other factors that could influence
vulnerability."

Advancing Ui*k Aftseasnient

KATK*i*i O.VAJTH CCXMCA

SEPA Cumulative Impact Assessment

Cumulative Impacts:

*z2S2p>

Risks and impacts caused by multiple pollutants, both
in isolation and through their interaction with each
other and social vulnerabilities. The pollutants are
usually emitted by multiple sources located in the
community.	_

*

From presentation by Dr Nicky Sheats and Dr Ana Baptista

C-3


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Cumulative Impact Assessment

• EO14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad

•	We must listen to science — and act.

•	Agencies shall make achieving environmental justice part
of their missions ... to address the disproportionately
high and adverse human health, environmental,
climate-related and other cumulative impacts on

disadvantaged communities, as well as the
accompanying economic challenges of such impacts

Application of Cumulative Impact Assessment:
New Jersey Statute S232	

If a facility seeking a permit would cause higher cumulative
environmental and public health stressors, then:

•	New permit: Denied

•	Expansion: Additional Conditions

•	Renewal: Additional Conditions

An applicant must prepare:

• "...an environmental justice impact statement that assesses
the potential environmental and public health stressors
associated with the proposed new or expanded facility,... and
the environmental or public health stressors already borne
by the overburdened community as a result of existing
conditions located in or affecting the overburdened
community"

Locations with EJ Policies

Locality

Types of Policies

Austin. TX

Proactive Planning

Baltimore, MD

Bars

Camden City. NJ

Reviews

Chicago, IL

Bans, Health Codes

Cincinnati. OH

Reviews

Commerce, CA

Proactive Planning

Detroit, Ml

Health Codes

Denver. CO

Health Codes

Erie. CO

Health Codes

Eugene. OR

Proactive Planning

Fulton County, GA

Proactive Planning, Reviews, General

Huntington Park, CA

Targeted

Los Angeles, CA

Proactive Planning

Los Angeles County, CA

Proactive Planning

Minneapolis, MN

Proactive Planning, Targeted

National City, CA

Proactive Planning, Targeted

Newark. NJ

Reviews

New York, NY

General

Oakland, CA

Bans

Portland, OR

Bans

Richmond. CA

Health Codes

San Francisco, CA

General, Targeted, Proactive Planning. Health
Codes, Reviews

Seattle. WA

Proactive Planning, Bans

Washington, D.C.

Proactive Planning, Targeted

Whatcom County, WA

Bans

https://ehsdaiiyadvisor.blr.com/2021/06/cumulative-
i m pa ct-ord i na n ces-a dd ress-e n vi ron m en ta I -j ustice/


-------
Cumulative Assessment-Chemical arid Non-Chemical

Stressors

Traditional Risk Assessment

EPA and ORD have much experience with
source-to-outcome chemical risk assessment.

Community-

From Environmental Justice Research Roadmap EPA 601/R-16/006 (2016)

Risk to Chemical Mixtures:

Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH)

Question: How can we develop toxicity values for chemical mixtures that reflect real-life exposures,

account for the variability in the mixture, and are measurable in the environment?

Methods:

•	Environmental contamination by complex TPH mixtures is
widespread; TPH mixture components are poorly defined
and often vary across sites and over time

•	The TPH Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Value
(PPRTV) assessment uses a fraction-based approach.

•	Examines integrated noncancer hazard or cancer risk
associated with exposure to six fractions defined by
chemical properties,	Lessons Learned:

Using a data-driven approach, the choice

•	Methods used: indicator chemical approaches; hazard	of method for determining the risk of the
index method; relative potency factor approach; mjxture depen(js Qn the chemjca| ana|yses

10 integrated addition method; response addition approach conducted at the site

C-5


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V

Chemical Co-Exposure Modeling

Question: How can we identify and characterize potential real-
world chemical co-exposures from consumer products to
prioritize in vitro toxicity screening for regulatory decisions?

Methods: Computational modeling methods to link chemical
ingredients in consumer products to household level consumer
product purchasing data

Lessons Learned:

Patterns of chemical co-occurrence identified across all
households, including when stratifying on race/ethnicity, income,
education, and family composition

Humans are potentially exposed to many chemicals from the
use of consumer products

Exposure includes a combination of chemicalsfrom different
products

Computational methods may be used to help prioritize chemical
combinations for toxicity testing

.I

, งCP!>*t

itaB—Clwmfcjl 501
uoauced touch
[h Product Puichawi

^ f rซquซ nt inmut Mining

Cumulative Assessment-Chemical and Non-Chemical

Stressors

Aggregate Exposure Pathway (AEP)

Manufacturing
Industrial by-products
Food production

External |
Exposure





Food & Drink





Air, water, dust





Consumer





products



Internal
Exposure

Teeguarden, Tari et al (2016)

Approaches

•	Estimation from whole
mixture testing results

•	Assumptions of dose
additivity

•	Assumptions of response
additivity

ORD is developing methods to consider
cumulative chemical exposures incorporating
AEPs linked to AOPs

Applications of chemical mixtures research
include updating assessments on PCBS,
characterizing PFAS mixtures, and
considering provisional toxicity values for
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons

~]g4> '



Ankley et al. (2010); Villeneuve et al. (2014)

Adverse



Outcome





Regulatory-



Relevant



Population



Responses

Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP)

C-6


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sX_

Cumulative Assessment - Chemical and Non-chemical

Stressors

Traditional Risk Assessment

How do we go from this
traditional chemical risk

assessment paradigm...

Community-

From Environmental Justice Research Roadmap EPA 601/R-l6/006 (2016)

Cumulative Risk Assessment

Traditional Risk Assessment

...to this paradigm that
incorporates non-
chemical stressors that
undoubtedly play a
role in disparate
exposures and health
outcomes?

| Race/Ethnicity | - ป| Residential Location

Neighborhood



Community



Structural



Environmental

Resources



Stressors



Factors



Hazards and





\





Pollutants

Modified from Gซ and Poyne-Sturgti. 20O9.
Environ Hrolth Penpta. 112(17): 1615-1653

From Environmental Justice Research Roadmap EPA 601/R-16/006 (2016)


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Positive/Neutral/N =b<".ivc
Influences on Total (Bu It, Natural,
Social) Environ ents

15

Adapted from Tulve, N. S., Ruiz, J. D.,
Lichtveld, K., Darney, S. P., &
Qsickenboss, J. J. (2016).
Stelopment of a conceptual
pmework depicting a child's total
(Jilt, natural, social) environment
order to optimize health and well
bang. Journal of Environment and
Health Science, 2(2), 0-0.

1

SEPA ~



Chemical and Non-Chemical Stressors - The Total
Environment / Exposome

1



Outcome-based research:

•	Total Environment (Tulve, et al):Chemical and non-
chemical stressors affecting children: Systematic review
and meta-analysis of: obesity, general cognitive ability,
ADHD, childhood externalizing behaviors

Identifying biomarkers of allostatic load:

•	Can these serve to operationalize the exposome?

•	How to quantify social stress to use together with these
biomarkers?

•	Utility of constructs such as embodiment (Krieger) and
weathering (Geronimus)

•	Use of qualitative data?

Additional future research issues:

•	Application of exposome to lifestage research

•	Application to community-engaged research and public
health

•	Application to regulatory determinations

16

Exposome: The cumulative measure of environmental
influences and associated biological responses throughout
the lifespan, including exposures from the environment,
diet, behavior, and endogenous processes (Miller and
Jones, 2014)

Ecosystems

Food outlets, alcohol outlets
Built environment and
urban land uses
Population density
Walkabikty
Green/blue space

Social

Household income
Inequality
Social capital
Social networks
Cultural norms
Cultural caprtal

Psychological and mental stress

Vermeulen et al 2020

Physical-Chemical

Temperature/humidity
Electromagnetic fields
Ambient light
Odor and noise
Point, line sources. e.g.
factories, ports
Outdoor and indoor at
pollution
Agricultural activities,
livestock

PoUen/moW/furgus
Pest icdes
fragrance products
flame retardants (PBOts)
Persistent organic pollutants
Plastic and piastcuers
food contaminants
Soil contaminants
Or*1 lung water contamination
Groundwater contamination
Surface water contamination
Occupational exposures

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17

Neighborhood Environment, Accelerated
Aging, and Air Pollution

Questions:

•	What is the cumulative impact of multiple neighborhood stressors on accelerated
aging?

•	How might accelerated aging and air pollution jointly increase cardiovascular health
risks?

Methods:

•	DNA methylation biomarkers to assess accelerated epigenetic aging—a means of
assessing biological age using DNA methylation Biological age is responsive to
environmental exposures and physiological changes and reflects future disease risks

•	17 neighborhood built environment variables were evaluated by trained assessors and
models for air quality

•	3 cohorts: Detroit, Ml, and Central NC

Lessons Learned:

•	The neighborhood environment had a strong impact on accelerated epigenetic aging
that was independent of neighborhood perception

•	There was a significant interaction between accelerated aging and traffic-related air
pollution indicating that those with accelerated aging may be at increased
environmental health risks

Neighborhood Revitalization,
Cumulative Impact Optimization

Question:

How to revitalize a neighborhood in Rockford, IL?

Optimize health determinants: housing, neighborhood, greenspace,
employment / economy, safety, well-being

Minimize negative impacts, maximize positive impacts as part of a Land
Revitalization Technical Assistance Grant
Method: Health Impact Assessment (HIA)

Scoping-What are impacts? Who is impacted? Who can intervene?

Assessment - Baseline conditions, metrics, indicators
Strategies and Interventions-to improve public health
Communications - based on stakeholder needs

Evaluation and Monitoring - evaluate decision-making and monitor long-term effects

Lessons Learned:

Multiple health determinants (i.e., cumulative impacts) can be
addressed during land revitalization planning and design
This can extend to other programs, policies and decisions, such as
brownfields, permitting or community capacity

18

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&EPA	Conclusions

•	ORD expects cumulative risk, cumulative impact, arid support for EJ communities to be a priority issues
within its updated research plans.

•	At the national regulatory scale, for cumulative risk assessment, better methodologies are needed for
public health application of exposures considered broadly

•	At the local scale, assessment of conditions that combine social and lifestage vulnerability with
environmental conditions for application to environmental decisions that directly affect health and well -
being in those communities are needed

•	EPA has some tools for rapidly screening communities and locations.

•	Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) provide one approach to community-engaged cumulative
assessment and structured decision-making

•	EPA is conducting some foundational research on how different sociodemographic and other factors
impact risk from chemicals or pollutants.

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

The Exposome as a Tool for
Studying Childhood Exposures

Jennifer Richmond-Bryant
October 6, 2021

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Cumulative Risk Assessment

EPA (2003) Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment:

—	Cumulative risk: The combined risk from aggregate exposures to multiple
agents or stressors

—	Cumulative risk assessment: An analysis, characterization, and possible
quantification of the combined risks to health or the environment from
multiple agents or stressors

Multiple agents or stressors

—	Chemicgl stressors

—	Non-chemicgl stressors

C-ll


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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Nonchemical Stressors

Physical

Social

• Noise

• Poverty

• Vibration

• Racism/ethnocentris

• Heat

m

• Humidity

• Sexism

• Violence



• Homophobia

• Viruses

• Food deserts

• Bacteria

• Lack of greenspace 2



NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Psvchosocial Stressors

External Stressor

Poverty

Unemployment

Discrimination

Illness

Family issues
Violence

Coping
Capacity

Overwhelmed

College of Natural Resources

Health

Hypothalamus

Corticotrophin
releasing factor

Payne-Sturges DC et al. Methods for evaluating the combined
effects of chemical and nonchemical exposures for
cumulative environmental health risk assessment. tJERPH.

Autonomic Nervous
. System.

HRV
Downstream
Effects

Cortisol

Cortisol

Pituitary

1 1	Adrenocorticotrophi

c hormone

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Conceptual Model of Exposure Assessment in
Environmental Epidemiology	

Personal exposure
may represent the
entire exposure
history

-	True exposure can never
fully be measured

-	Social/Psychosocial factors

National Research Council. Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and

Metabolic genes.



Susceptibility genes

age, gender, other



and other risk factors

modifying factors



(for example, age,



comorbidity conditions)

Solid lines = direct effects, dashed lines = modifiers

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Characterizing Stressors in a CRA Model

Direct Stressor

(Additive/Confounder)	Modifier (Interaction)

Stress
Indicators

Pollution

p



Heal
Effe



Stress
Indicators

Y = p0 + Px*X + ps*Stressor + Pc*Z + s

Hajat Aetal. Confounding by socioeconomic status in epidemiological studies of air pollution and
health: Challenges and opportunities. Environ Health Perspect. 2021; 129:065001	

Pollution

Y = po + P'*X*Stressor + pz*Z + a

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

The "Exposome" Concept (Wild, 2005)

•	Represents total, cumulative exposures from in utero onward

—	Chemical

—	Nonchemical

•	Analogy to the human genome, as a map of the proteins
determining human traits

•	Calls attention to need for more detailed exposure information,
like the genome fingerprint

•	Popular concept: new journal "Exposome" founded 2021

Wild CP. Complementing the genome with an "exposome": The outstanding challenge of environmental measurement in molecular epidemiology. Cancer Epidemiol	ฃ

Biomarkers Prev. 2005;! 4(8): 1 847-1 850.

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

The Exposome Analogy

Human Genome

a

base pairs

sugar-phosphate
backbone

_ ~ 3HQ nitrogen-

	containing

\ / sugar [E	bases

D 2007 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Exposome

(

Tooacco |

https://www.britannica.com/event/Human-Genome-

Vrijheid M. The exposome: a new paradigm to study the impact of
environment on health. Thorax. 2014;69:876-878.	

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

-Omic Model for Health

All of the "omics"
impact human
health

The exposome impacts
all others
Exogenous
- Some of which are

DNA sequence

Environment Body

Siroux V, Agier L, Slama R. The exposome concept: A challenge and a potential driver for
environmental health research. Eur Respir Rev. 2016;25:104-107.

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

The Exposome

• Three domains:

—	General external environment
(community): e.g., ambient air,
climate, social status

—	Specific external environment
(individual): e.g., smoking, diet,
indoor air, exercise

—	Internal environment: e.g.,
oxidative stress,

College of Natural Resources

Vrijheid M. The exposome: a new paradigm to study the impact of
environment on health. Thorax. 2014;69:876-878.	

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

The Exposome in an Epidemiology
Framework

• As one moves from the
individual to population
outcomes, layers of

—	Personal attributes

—	Ambient conditions in
the natural, built, social,
and policy environment

—	Biological mechanisms

—	Moderating	and
mediating factors

NC STATE UNIVERSITY	College of Natural Resources

EXPOsOMICS Consortium:

Framing Questions

•	Can personal exposure and -omic technologies be used to refine exposure
assessment for air and water contaminants?

•	Will more accurate estimates with reduced exposure measurement error
result?

•	Do new approaches allow for investigating multipollutant effects?

•	Does the exposome improve the study of dose-response relationships?

•	Can exposome analysis strengthen the process of making causal
determinations?

•	Can exposomics be used to study life-course epidemiology?

Turner MC et al. EXPOsOMICS: Final policy workshop and stakeholder consultation. BMC Public Health. 201 8; 1 8:260.

INDIVIDUAL

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

•	Demographics

•	Behaviors

ฆ Psychosocial

ENVIRONMENT

" HISTORICAL

FIGURE 11 Applying an exposome approach to cardio-vascular disease onset, progression, and outcomes.

MODERATING
FACTORS

So
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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Exposomics Study Design Considerations

*	Public health perspectives: health effects of
exposures, regulations, prevalence among population

*	Characteristics of the exposure: level, averaging
time, frequency, dose

*	Mechanism of responding to the exposure:
toxicokinetics, additivity or synergism

12

DeBord et al. Use of the "exposome" in the practice of epidemiology: A primer on —omic technologies. Am J Epidemiol. 2016;1 84:302-314.

NC STATE UNIVERSITY	College of Natural Resources

Exposomics: Research Process

1.	Assess individual exposures

2.	Assess outdoor exposures

3.	Integrate exposures

4.	Integrate molecular exposure signatures

5.	Link exposome to child health

6.	Identify health impacts of multiple exposures

C-17


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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Approaches to Generating an
Exposome Metric

•	Create matrix of correlations
between all variable pairs

•	Compute closest positive definite^
matrix

— Benchmark correlation matrix, I

•	Use the matrix to generate the
exposome, X ~ N(0/1)

a# .i# . - 'A

W/////M \\\\\\

5 **•ซฆฆฆซ•** -

Correlation
0.5 > r > = 0.3 • -0.3 <= r < -0.5

Families of Exposure

•	Metals

•	Organochlorines
Water Pollutants
Home Environment

•	Air Pollutants

•	Phthalates
Bisphenol A

•	Built Environment

•	PFAS

•	PBDEs

•	Temperature

•	Noise

•	Cotinine

Agier L et al. A systematic comparison of linear regression-based statistical
methods to assess exposome-health associations. Environ. Health Perpsect.
2016;124:1848-1856

Robinson O et al. The Pregnancy Exposome: Multiple environmental exposures in
the INMA-Sabadell Birth Cohort. Environ Sci Technol. 2015;49:10632-"| 1 40641.

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Approaches to Modeling Effects of
the Exposome

• Different models can be developed depending on assumptions
for environmental factors, e.g.,

—	Linearity: Y = Xkj=l f3\Xi + 6, e ~ N (0, a2 )

-	Interactions: Y = ฃk frXi + ฃk ฃji2 Ji,jXtXj + e, € ~ TV 0,a2 )

i=l

i=l

— Multiple comparison testing (^xWA|, exposome-wide association study):
Y = (30 + P\X\ + 6,-6 ~ N 0,
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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Approaches to Modeling Effects of
the Exposome

• Several methods are designed to curtail collinearity among the
environmental factors

—	Two-step Environment-Wide Association Study (EWAS2): univariate
regression for each factor with multiple comparison p-value adjustment,
then significant factors from the univariate regression get included in a
multivariate model with interactions

—	Deletion/Substitution/Addition: variable selection, with main effects and
interactions

—	Sun 3-step Method: Check for correlations (e.g., p > 0.6) and keep most
significant, then run selected variables through a CART

Barrera-Gomez J et al. A systematic comparison of statistical methods to detect interactions in exposome-health associations. Environ Health. 2017; 16:74.

NC STATE UNIVERSITY	College of Natural Resources

Approaches to Modeling Effects of
the Exposome

• Other methods allow for collinearity (no independence)

—	Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO): minimizes
RSS penalized by sum of absolute value of regression coefficients, in
many cases driving /? ^ 0

—	Elastic Net (ENET): a variation on LASSO using a second penalty

—	Group-LASSO INTERaction-NET (GLINTERNET): follows LASSO design
but also allows for pair-wise interactions for non-zero regression
coefficients

—	Boosted Regression Trees (BRT): iterative process of partitioning data,
fitting regression, and then classifying data until optimized

Barrera-Gomez J et al. A systematic comparison of statistical methods to detect interactions in exposome-health associations. Environ Health. 2017; 16:74.

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Exposomics and Children's Health

Human Early-Life
Exposome (HELIX) study:

-	Aggregated data from six
early life studies
conducted across Europe

-	31,472 children participated
in total

-	Women recruited during
pregnancy at different
trimesters, depending on

1. Measuring the external exposome

Repeat
biomarkers,
questionnaires,

exposure
monitors, and
models

Food
contaminants

Consumer
products

Water
contaminants

Indoor air
pollutants

GIS/spatial
models,
remote
sensing,
exposure
monitors,
smart phones

Outdoor air
pollutants

Built
environmental
green space;

2. Integrating the external
and internal exposome

3. Impact on child health

Individual
exposures
(area 1)

Reducing
uncertainty

1



Outdoor



exposures



(area 2)



Reducing



uncertainty

Integrating
exposures
(area 3)

Multiple
exposure
patterns

Integrating
molecular
signatures
(area 4)

Omics
tools,
pathway
analysis

Child
health
risk
(area 5)

Statistical
tools for
multiple
exposures

Individual and temporal variability
physical activity, mobility, diet social

Environmental
burden of
childhood
disease
(area 6)

Impact
assessment
for multiple
exposures

Vrijheid, M et al. The Human Early-Life Exposome (HELIX): Project
Rationallegand Design. Environ Health Perspect. 2014;122:535-544.

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Exposomics in Children: Exposures to Chemical
and Nonchemical Stressors



Group

H il-noipn-sric txillutdnls
Surrounding natural spac
Meteorology
ฆ BuUt EfMroflmcflt

ฆ PBOEs
PFASs
O Metals

- = PhBWatM
H Pftsnois

I aDacca snoBmfl
| Water DBPs
H tifostjle

Mean of principal component score

Tamayo-Uria I et al.The early-life exposome: Description and patterns in six European countries.
Environment International. 2019;123:189-200.

PCA used to analyze large
numbers of stressors
(chemical and non-chemical)

—	87 during pregnancy

—	1 22 during childhood

Reduced to 1 5 groupings:

—	Atmospheric pollutants

—	Surrounding natural space

—	Meteorology

—	Built environment

—	Traffic

—	Road traffic noise

—	Etc.

19

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

B

Exposomics in Children: Exposures to Chemical
and Nonqhemical Stressors

ฉ ฉ

,0 ฉ •ฉฆ @

e ~ee

e B ~ ,

w*—





e ฉ

ฉ



ฉ

ฉ



^ ป

ฉ ^ ซ

0@



Surrounding natural spaces

Mgteprolg^ictf

Sulk Emdroffurwnt

TmHic

Rood traffic rolse

OCs

PFAiic
Metals
PhlhซUiv*
Pfvenols

ioclo-aeottornlt caplTal



Tamayo-Uria I et al. The early-life exposome: Description and patterns in six European countries.
Environment International. 2019:123:189-200.

Network

visualization of the
exposome

Proximity reflects the
within-cohort
correlation
15 groupings
illustrated by colors

20

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

Exposomics in Children: Exposures to Chemical
and Nonchemical Stressors

Persistent Organic Pollutants

Mercury & Lead

Arsenic

Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Ultraviolet Radiation, Organophosphates,
Pestici

IT 2T " 3T f ly 2y 3y 4y Sy 
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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Natural Resources

PMabs -0.2j

-0.21

Exposomics in Children: SEP

I	\	Greener, les;

HELIX analysis of SEP

across cities:

—	High between-city
variability

With gentrification of
some cities:

—	No clear relationship
between SEP and pollution
exposure

—	Not consistent among all
cities

independent effect of

less urban, less N02
(PCI: 31%)

High traffic, noise & air pollution,
less people (PC2:10%)

noisejden -o.ie 0.24 |
green_dist_inv | 0.2s 0.14
NDVI30O	017

blue_dist_inv -0.01
trafficjoad -0.16

tratfic_near -o.os

road_dist_inv -0.12
popdens -0.24
build_dens300

oonnect300 m
bus_stops300 -0.16
feat_ rich300

0.33 0.24 HL34
001 oo' 0.2a

ฐb

Ianduseshan300 ฆ

V -0,33 -<

0.28 0.22

Mm\

-012J-0.22. -0.
-0.071-015, 0
0 02 -0 02, 0.
-0.16 -0.36, 0...
0 06 -o ! 3. MS
0.09 N or, C 24

- jgg

0.09 [-0-09, 0.2!

M 1-0.32. 0. IS) REKtoOel

0.02 [-0.07. 010]

Noisy, low air pollution,
walkable. mixed use (PC3:8%)

Low traffic, high PM, natural
SDace. walkable (PC4:7%)

-0.14 -0.23, -004
-"04'|-0,11, 002
. 09 | 0.05. 0 12
-0.23 [-0.42, -0 04
-0 05 [-0,22, " "
???

0.03 -0.05, 0.10]
-0.05 -0.14, 0""

0 08i 0 W
-0.28 [-046 -0.08

		.		 -027 [-049,-0 06

—. 0.l4[0.0l 0 35
ซ—			 0 ,191-0 .03, 0.41

RE Model	— -0.01 (-0.10, 0 08]

-0.60 ' -0M ' 0.20

Greener, less urban, less N02
(PCI: 31%)

Oslo ฆ -0 341-045, -0 231
Kaunas ฆ -0 80 -0.90. -0 70
Bradford ฆ 1.34 [ 1-21, 1.48
3 PolEws '• 2 93 2 64' 323
ฐ Giojzkoa * -025 (-0.80; 0 31
SaoaOel ... -1.811-217 -144
Valencia .*• 3.20 [2.75, 3.65
Heraktan -1.11 (-1.50. -0 72

Oslo ฆ
Kaunas ฆ
Bradford ฆ
Nsmcy
Pollers

Gipuzkoa . • -

SaBadsll

Valencia

Heraklion

-0 091-0 16, -002
0.06 [-0.03. 0.14

0163812. SM

-0 1' 1-0 36 0.03
0 25 [ 0.06. 0.44
-0.401-0.61,-0.19

		 143 1". id. 1.76

0.35|0.10, 0.59
-O.05H).23. 0.12

RE Model — 0,64 [-0-60. 1 68] RE Med* —

0.161-0.16, 0.49

109 -4!co ' o-bo 4.00 -1.00 o.bo '100' 2.00

Noisy, low air pollution, Low traffic, high PM, natural
„ walkable. mixed use (PC3:8%) space, walkable (PC4:7%)

Oslo • -0.04 [-0.10, 0 03
Bradford • 0.19 [0.12. 026
Nancy , ซ , -0.11 (-0 30. 008
PDifera 0 34 [0.17, 051

Valencia —•— 0.2310-04, 043
HeraWon —-O.20 [-0.36. -0 04

Oslo

Kaunas

Bradford

-0 02I-0 07 0 03

ฆ" if'llll

"_^/^36|[8^Jm

~^mIVoฐ23~057
0 2310.02. 0.45

RE Model — 0,03 (-0.11, 016] RE Model —

— 0.03 1-0-23, 0.30

Family
Education

RE MoOel	— 0.01 [-009, 0.11]

-0.60 -0.20 0.20 0.60

High traffic, noise & air pollution,
less DeoDle (PC2:10%)

Area-level
SEP

22

Jtobinson^^O^et^L^Th^mjDan^exjsosomecjunniyDregn^nc^andJts^socioecono^

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Exposomics in Children: Biological Age

Epigenetic age acceleration
(DNA methylation)
observed

Significant associations
with maternal tobacco
smoking during pregnancy,
indoor PM, parental

13

Horvath's All Tissue clock

4	8	12	16

OS A Mrtij ialxra age

de Prado-Bert, P et al. The early-life exposome and epigenegic age accelerati203n in
children. Environ. Intl. 2021:155:106683.

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY



Exposomics in Children: Low Birth Weight



^,NOVI_500m
NDVI 300m

Volcano clot





• Greater building density
was statistically
significantly associated

Exposure family '



8uifcfc*3Density_300m^















ฎ

3

3

0-

2

CB
O

0

•

ฆ

T ป
• *

ฆ

*• A .

* t

a •

~ ฆ

• * * " *

ฆ



' "'T™ with increased low birth

ป Built Environment

Meteorology . .

~	Natural Space WGIgllt

~	Road Traffic

' Greater greenness was
statistically

significantly associated
with decreased low

-0.2 0.0 0,2
log^Fold Change)

Nieuwenhuijsen MJ etal. Influence of the urban exposome on birth weight. Environ.
Health PersDect. 2019:127:047007

24

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Exposomics in Children: Lung Function

• Decrement in
postnatal FEVi
associated with
several
stressors,
including:

-	House crowding

-	Commerce
around schools

Agier, L. etal. Early-life exposome and lungfunction in children in Europe: an analy2s5is of data
from the longitudinal, population-based HELIX cohort. Lancet. 2019;3:e81-92.

MEOF—ซ

DEHF*	House crowding

v	j

/	MFUMP

MECPP	Ethyl-parabcn |

I-5-j Facility density* ** CBCQMiNP ^

Copper-* *

i-"

3 10-

W

ftS-

-3

* *

ป •

j 'i

0	1

-kxjj (fold change]

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NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Exposure variable'

Exposomics in Children: Allergy

ExWAS multiple comparison

muJll-expcoure model

OR[95* a]' p value Frequency of selection (%) OR[95*ปa]' p value

PM*.

inverse distance to nearest road (ra~s)
oxo-MlNP (pfc/g)

Population density at home address (InfiaWtants/kin3)

Cat at home

Molybdenum iflg/L)

Cadmium (pg/10

PPOS QI&/U

BUPAQigA)

Itchy msii

Built environment

Ltfeayle

Me lab

Metals

PFASs

Traffic density on nearest road (vehicles/day)	Traffic

Exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy (No exposure) Tobacco sncfee
Only passive exposure

MEP(ns/g)
cntWhood

NO2 (Indoors) (pg/cm3)

Total tours of Sleep (tours)

Sedentary behaviour (mm/day)

Arsenic (jig/I.)

PPOA (Jlg'T.)

PFHXS Qlg/L)

BUPA (Hg/g)

Air pollution

lifestyle

Lifestyle

Metals

PFASs

PFASS

Phenols

2.05
0.78
0-42

Prenatal

Traffic density on nearest road (V(3iicJes/dav)
inverse distance to nearest road (m~')

0.6 [0.4^.91
1.2 [1.0;1.5]

1.2	[1.0;1.41

1.3	[1.0;1.6}
0.7 [0.5;1.0]
0.9 [0.8-1.01
1.2 n.o;l.4|
0.8 [0.6;1.01
1.2 [l.l;l_31

0.02
0.02
0.04

0.02
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.01
0.007

3500 1.3 n o;isi

0.5 [0.3; 0.91
0.9 [0.5; 1.5]
0.8 [0.6; 1.0]

1.5 [1.02-3]
0.8 [0.6:1.01
1.2 [1.0;15]
1.4 [1.0:1-81

0.8 [0.6; 1.01
0.7 [0.5:1.0]
1.2 [1.0;1.4]

0.04
0.02
0.05
0.03
0.03
0.04
0.04

0.5 I0.3JK91

1.3 ii.i:i.6i

1.2 [1-0:1.41

1.3 [1.0;1.6]	0.02

0.5 10.3; 0.9]	0.01

0.9 (0.5: 1.4]	0.56

0.8 10.6; 1.0]	0.03

testing showed statistically
significant associations with:

—	Prenatal inverse distance to
nearest road

—	Prenatal phthalates

—	Prenatal population density

—	Prenatal traffic density

—	Childhood indoor NO2

—	Childhood sleep

—	Childhood sedentary behavior

—	Childhood arsenic exposure

26

Granum, B. Multiple environmental exposures in early-life and allergy-related outcomes in childhood. Environ. Intl. 2020;144:106038.

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Exposomics in Children: BMI

	d_- *86,518 CpO*^

Whole nu-tfriyl'ome J—c

StGt) Dimension reduction based
on a priori kncm-lodgi

-e-

Restricted met to tome ^ ~ 2.2S44 ( -pOV'

Step b) RcUtion b<:ซwซn restricted | V adjustment
r > methylome and BMI [ j /or ccll-iypes n

*	* Associaixm tests

•

zBMI //

' Scmmvity analysts





I Reduced mttliyliajit '

— CpGs associated d = 62CpGs

Step c)

Relation between reduced
melhylnme and BMI

Whole expowirne

=#=
Reduced espostmie

d - 216 exposures

}—c

r. i\ Relation betw een reduced

otep a) cxpo,<)mc anct RM|



o

Moving to next Mcp

Looked at CpG (cytosine-
phosphate-guanine) sites that
are susceptible to methylation
Found 62 sites associated
with BMI

Then examined whole
exposome association with
BMI and narrowed it down to
2 exposures

—	Postnatal blood copper

-	PFOS

d - 2 exposure*

C-24


-------
NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Exposomics in Children: Cognitive Function

Statistically significant
increase in IQwith organic
food

Small but statistically
significant decrease in IQwith
house crowding
Fast food, lead, environmental
tobacco smoke, soda,

Childhood exposome and CPM

House crowding

CL

wTj

o

Dl
ฐ

Organicfood-2*
Organicfood-3ซ

3" • Fastfood-3

ETS

Pb

Soda-3

PFOS

.	PFOA. As

Benzene in 0djp * pcb 180

OXBE KIDMED 7 PCB 170

t ฆ

Populationschool

PFHXS

-1.5

Julvez, J. et al. Early life multiple exposures and child cognitive function: A multi-centric birth
cohort study in six European countries. Environ. Poll. 2021;284:117404.	

-1.0

-0.5	0.0

beta estimate

o.s

1.0

28

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Exposomics in Children: Behavior

ADHD Index (Conners)

House oxwdtng

_•

Sociafconla^

Ready made food

Caffe nc

PM2.S"in
Fastfo^g

SodBl cflgact Sweeps ;US
f 0 Benzene in
Sociai participation Traffrcjoad - natfest

8 8

I: i'

t •

r

	

pcb ieo

PCB 170
PCBs -
DDE
PCB 138
P68153

""B ^ OHMiNRf
PBt* 47 ^ mehM

0 8 • ฐ o *

3

1 ฐ 8

oO Aox ,5% changes in effects
for several variables, including
processed foods

Family of exposure

C-25


-------
NC STATE UNIVERSITY

IllEUMI

Exposomics Study Design Considerations

•	Measurement technologies

•	Measurement error

•	Multiple associations

•	Characterizing variability among participants, over time

•	Characterizing variability and uncertainty in exposure data

•	Confounding

•	Reverse causality

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Key Challenges: Measuring Elements
of the Exposome

•	True exposures cannot
be completely
measured

-	Bias

-	Incompleteness

-	Uncertainty

•	But, data are now easier
and cheaper to obtain
than ever

31

SirouxV, Agier L, Slama R. The exposome concept: A challenge and a potential driver for environmental health research. Eur Respir Rev. 2016;25:104-107.

Questionnaires

Residential, ป
occupational,
smoking history,

e,t

C3

GIS-based environmental model

Air pollution ^ t
Green space	
-------
NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Key Challenges:
Modeling Effects of
the Exposome

•	More predictors mean:

-	Increased bias

-	Decreased specificity

-	Increased false positives

-	Decreased sensitivity

•	Positive correlation tends
to inhibit performance

•	Best performance: ENET

Agier Letal. A systematic comparison of linear regression-based statistical



NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Key Challenges:
Modeling Effects of the
Exposome

•	SES often measured with lower
spatial resolution than pollution

•	When using the same spatial scale
for both, associations with pollutants
often disappear while associations
with SES remain

Humphrey JL et al. Putting co-exposures on equal footing: An ecological
analysis of same-scale measures of air pollution and social factors on
cardiovascular disease in New York City. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;
16:4621.

ACS 20e7^O11 Census TraSs* ""

iSI *

#5jjb

Social Deprivation Index
ACS 2007-2011 Census Tracts

0

ฆ4*

-1 %* -

Assault Rate per 10k Population

A'

""aCS 2007-20M Census TrKts

0

JS*

J, "***

ACS 2007-21111 Census Tracts

ฆiTlu

"•zr*

Percent Non-Hispanic Black

M

f '

~~SSr

C-27


-------
NC STATE UNIVERSITY

MATEIMT

Conclusions

•	Frameworks exist for studying cumulative or concurrent
ambient and nonambient exposure groupings

•	Validity of the results depends on choosing a model that
allows for multiple exposure effects while adjusting for
confounding

•	Chemical and nonchemical stressors frequently were found
to influence children's health

C-28


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Non-Chemical Stressors in
the Built Environment

AdrienneL. Hollis, PhD, JD
Hollis Environmental Consulting (HEC)

Working at the Intersection of Health, Environment and Climate
October 6, 2021

Air Quality

Accessibility

Mental Health

\



Land Use

(Housing, parks, farms, workplace, etc.)

The Built Environment

Transport Infrastructure

(roads, transit, walks, trails, etc.)
		J

Safety



Motor Vehicle
Use

Physical
Activity

Water Quality

C-29


-------
Impact of Climate Change on Human Health

Injuries, fatalities,	Asthma,

mental health impacts cardiovascular disease

Heat-related illness

and death,
cardiovascular failure

Air
Pollution

Malaria, dengue,
encephalitis, hantavirus,
Rift Valley fever,
changes Lyme disease,

/V^vjRts> \\ ,CT9M Lyme disease,
'i-ix	West Nile virus

Environ-

Forced migration,
civil conflict,

mental health impacts



Increasing

Allergens Respiratory

allergies, asthma

Water and Food	Water

Supply Impacts Quality Impacts

IB . .	Cholera,

Malnutrition,	cryptosporidiosis,

diarrheal disease	Campylobacter, leptospirosis,

harmful algal blooms

Racism

C-30


-------
Environmental Racism Is Nothing New

56%

38%

Nation.

Have
seen

95%

of their claims against polluters
denied by the EPA

JET

nil

Are 1 I

more likely to
live without
potable
water and
modern
sanitation.

Race is the most
significant predictor
of a person living near
contaminated air,
water, or soil.

of the population near
toxic waste sites are
people of color.

higher

nitrogen-

dioxide

exposure.

Have

C-31


-------
https://blog.ucsusa.org/juan-declet-barreto/the-inequities-of-keepirig-cool-in-urban-heat-islands/

Difference in Environmental Risk Exposure Compared to White Americans

Percent, 2019

Traffic proximity and volume
Proximity to TSDF facilities
Proximity to RMP facilities
Proximity to major water discharger facilities
Proximity to National Priority List sites
Diesel particulate matter exposure
Air toxics respiratory hazard index
Air toxic cancer risk
Lead paint exposure
PM2.5 exposure
Ozone exposure

-21% I

0%|
-3% |

72%

87%

[30%
ฆ 42%

ฆ 22%
117%

ฆ 19%
|12%

ฆ 21%
111%

ฆ 9%
|1%

-50%

50%

150%

Source: EPA, Census and
Rhodium Group estimates

C-32


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5.5	million children under age 18 years
currently have asthma

9.8 million physician office visits with
asthma as a primary diagnosis

1.6	million emergency department visits
with asthma as a primary diagnosis

3,564 deaths from asthma

19.2 million adults aged 18 and over
currently have asthma

Black Americans are nearly 1.5 times more
likely to have asthma and Puerto Rican
Americans are 2 times more likely
Black Americans are 5 times more likely to
visit the emergency room for Asthma and 3
times more likely to die from asthma

C-33


-------

-------
Non-chemical Stressors from the Natural Environment

Susan Yee

Gulf Ecosystem Measurement & Modeling Division
US Environmental Protection Agency

The views expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily
represent the views or the policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.



I oo nof

FEfO |
FHf
Muimtors,

"Human health and well-being are inextricably
linked to the health of the natural environment

Runoff & Urbanization
Discharges

Air
Pollution

Climate
Change

Carbon	Pest

Sequestration Regulation

Storm Surge
Protection

Water Green Space
Filtration

Air Pollutant
Removal

C-35


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What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

•	Where is the ecological/human
interaction happening??

•	Wha attributes of the natural
environment are being used or
conferring a benefit?

•	How are those attributes being used?

•	Who is benefitting?

"[biophysical] components of nature,
directly enjoyed, consumed, or used to
yield human well-being" (Boyd ABsmhar 2007)

https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/national-ecosystem-services-classification-system-nescs-plus
https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/final-ecosystern-goods-and-services-fegs-scoping-tool

What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

"[biophysical] components of nature,
directly enjoyed, consumed, or used to
yield human well-being" (Boyd&BsnzM 2007)

What?

•	Air & Atmosphere

•	Soil & Substrate

•	Water

•	Fauna, Flora, & Fungi

•	Other Natural Components

•	Composite Attributes

•	Mitigation of Extreme Events

C-36


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What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

Air quality

Wind strength & speed
Precipitation
Sunlight
Temperature

Air & Atmosphere

What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

Soil quality
Soil quantity
Substrate quality
Substrate quantity

Soil & Substrate

C-37


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What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

Water quality
Water quantity
Water movement

Water

What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

Biodiversity
Edible or Medicinal
Charismatic or Culturally Important
Pollinators or Pest Regulation
Commercial or Economic Importance

Fauna, Flora, & Fungi

C-38


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What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

Fuel & Fiber
Minerals & Chemicals
Other Natural Materials

Other Natural Components

What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

Aesthetic Viewscapes
Sounds & Scents
Open Space
Ecological Condition

Composite Attributes

C-39


-------
What are the Attributes of the Natural Environment
that Affect Human Health and Well-being?

Flooding
Wildfire

Extreme Weather
Earthquakes

Documented Health
Benefits from Nature

Eco-Health Relationship
Browser

Provides scientific evidence
for linkages between human
health & ecosystem services.

httDs://www.eDa.aov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-eco-health-relationshiD-browser

Aggression

Drylands

Anxiety

Aesthetics

Social &
Community
\ TWs

Engagement
With Nature

Respiratory
I Symptoms

Happiness

Mortality

Obesity

Longevity

Healing

C-40


-------
How does the Natural Environment Alter Effects
of Chemical Stressors?

•	Increasing or Decreasing Exposure to Chemical Stressors

•	Recreational waters; Flooding; Consumption of contaminated species

•	Buffering/filtering/absorption of pollutants; Stormwater infiltration

•	Decreasing Individual Vulnerability to Chemical Stressors

•	Buffering or mitigation of co-stressors

•	Recreational opportunities, clean air & water promote overall healthiness

•	Providing Natural Alternatives that Reduce Need for Chemicals

•	Biofuels; Natural pest management

•	Chemical Stressor impacts to Natural Environment that indirectly effect
Humans through loss of Ecosystem Services

What do we know about how Environmental
Attributes interact with Chemical Stressors?

Water

Consumption of contaminated fauna, flora, fungi

Biofuel alternatives

Natural fibers to absorb contaminants

Co-stressors (noise/smells)
Flood & Fire

!iStIf!f!ff!!!!!!!!!!!tl!!l|l!|II!II!ff!f|l1!!

s i* III IH1111111 n iI I! 11I1! 111! ฆ= I flHHr *



!lปllSll!ilH,jil!i

! 1 m

C-41


-------
Examples from San Juan, Puerto Rico

Key Question:

Could actions to restore estuary
hydrology, wetland habitat, and
greenspace lead to potential benefits for
human health and well-being?

Habitat
Loss

Climate
events

Stormwater
runoff

Sewage
discharges Flooding

Aquatic

Urbanization debris

Structured Decision Making to Frame Research

How can management of the natural environment
improve human health and well-being?

Use consideration of
natural environment to
identify viable alternative
decision-points

Communicate benefits of
environmental
management to human
health & well-being

Improve human health
and well being

Identify ecosystem
services as means
to improve health
and well-being

Statistical models & field work
to evaluate key relationships

IMPACTO
•"SALUD

C-42


-------
Natural Environment Effects Human Weil-Being

Human Weil-Being Index to
relate Ecosystem Services to
multiple components of well-
being while accounting for
Social/Economic Services
Flood-prone areas around the
impacted canal tended to
have lower well-being
Greenspace positively
associated with higher well-
being

Linking Ecosystem Condition to Human Well-being

Ecosystem
Condition

Ecosystem
Services

Temperature
Regulation

Human
Health

Water-borne
Gl Disease

Vector-borne
Illness

Asthma

Human
Well-being

Education

Living Standards

Health

Cultural &
Leisure
Opportunities

Safety

Social Cohesion

C-43


-------
Linking Ecosystem Condition to Human Well-being

Ecosystem
Condition

Ecosystem
Services

Human
Health

Temperature
Regulation

b

Water-borne
Gl Disease

Vector-borne
Illness

Asthma

Human
Well-being



Education

Living Standards

Health

Cultural &
Leisure
Opportunities

Safety

Social Cohesion

Myers et al, 2013

Mold and Asthma	Waterborne Gl Disease

How do flooding events & building materials	Does rainwater retention by urban greenspaces

impact mold and bacterial populations in homes?	and soils help mitigate water-borne Gl diseases?

Connection to
Nature

water-borne
Gl Disease

I Ecosystem
Condition

Education

Living Standards

Temperature
Regulation

Flood
Protection



C-44


-------
Vector-borne Illness

Key Question:

Cart wetland ecosystem services help
mitigate mosquito-borne illnesses?

Nature

Living Standards

Safety

Social Cohesion

Ecosystem
Condition

f	\

Ecosystem
Services

Human Health

Human
Well-being

Hypothesized Relationships

•	High nitrogen may boost mosquito populations

•	Wetland habitat may favor bio-control

•	High temperatures may increase mosquito
biting, oviposition rate, viral load

•	Floods may increase larval habitat availability

De Jesus-Crespo et al. 2017. Wetlands.

Vector-borne Illness

Key Question:

Can wetland ecosystem services help
mitigate mosquito-borne illnesses?

Connection to
Nature

Education

Health

Social Cohesion

Insulating Layers may Alter Ecosystem Effects

•	Built Infrastructure

•	Waste Management

•	Population Density of Teenagers

•	Wealth & Housing Quality

De Jesus-Crespo et al. 2017. Wetlands.

Ecosystem
Services

Ecosystem
Condition

Human Health

C-45


-------
Vector-borne Illness

• Genera! Linear Models to relate Metrics of Wetland Habitat, Ecosystem
Services, and Insulating Layers to Dengue Prevalence

•	Dengue prevalence negatively associated
with woody wetlands and salinity; positively
associated with flood zones, air
temperature, water nitrogen

•	Relationships stronger (e.g. ecosystem
services benefits stronger) neighborhoods
with low income or high density of teenagers

•	Positive benefits of wetlands primarily
related to temperature regulation



De Jesus-Crespo et al. 2017. Wetlands.



Vector-borne Illness

Related field study establishes a pathway
by which nitrogen in the environment
may influence viral capacity in mosquitos

Yee et al. 2017. EcoHealth

C-46


-------
Summary

Decision context and local community concerns
can help prioritize stressors for which research
needs are highest

Managing the natural environment can benefit
human health & well-being

Natural environment can provide sustainable
alternatives to chemical use

Insulating layers from the social/built
environment can exacerbate or buffer effects of
the natural environment

Acknowledgments

San Juan, Puerto Rico

ENLACE

Evelyn Huertas (US EPA)
San Juan Bay Estuary Program

Gastrointestinal Illness

Rebeca de Jesus Crespo (LSU)
Rich Fulford (US EPA)

Laura Jackson (US EPA)

Mark Myer (US EPA)

Lucas Neas (US EPA)

Jianyong Wu (US EPA)

FEMA of Puerto Rico

Vector-borne Illness

Rebeca de Jesus Crespo (LSU)

Pablo Mendez Lazaro (University of Puerto Rico)

Autumn Oczkowski (US EPA)

Donald Yee (University of Southern Mississippi)

Fengwei Bai (University of Southern Mississippi)

Stephanie Friedman (US EPA)

Roberto Barrera (CDC)

Mold and Asthma	Linda Harwe||

Doris Betancourt (US EPA)

Steve Vesper (US EPA)

Benjamin Bolanos (University of Puerto Rico)

Filipa Godoy-Vitorino (Interamerican University, PR)

Human Well-being

Elizabeth Paulukonis (US EPA)
Jessica Orlando (US EPA)

Lisa Smith (US EPA)

Kyle Buck (US EPA)

Linda Harwell (US EPA)

Carbon, Nitrogen, & Flooding

Cathy Wigand (US EPA)

Rose Martin (US EPA)
Autumn Oczkowski (US EPA)
Alana Hanson (US EPA)

Steve Balogh (US EPA)

Justin Bousquin (US EPA)
Ben Branoff (US EPA)

K'M

tut"

NESCSPIus, FEGS Scoping Tool, EcoHealth Browser

Matt Harwell (US EPA)

Leah Sharpe (US EPA)

Tammy Newcomer-Johnson (US EPA)

Laura Jackson (US EPA)

Marc Russell (US EPA)

C-47


-------
References

Betancourt, D., T. Dean, AND E. Huertas. An EPA pilot study characterizing fungal and bacterial populations
at homes after flooding events at the Martin Pena Channel Community. Microbiology of the Built
Environment, Lloyd Harbor, New York, November 03 - 06, 2019..

https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si public record report.cfm?dirEntryld=348231

De Jesus Crespo, R., P. Mendez-Lazaro, S.H. Yee. 2018. Linking wetland ecosystem services to vector borne
disease: Dengue fever in the San Juan Bay Estuary, Puerto Rico. Wetlands

https://doi.org/10.1007/sl3157-017-099Q-5

De Jesus Crespo, R., J. Wu, M. Myer, S. Yee, R. Fulford. 2019. Flood protection ecosystem services in the coast
of Puerto Rico: Associations between extreme weather, flood hazard mitigation, and gastrointestinal illness.
Science of the Total Environment. 676:343-355. h

Myers SS, Gaffikin L, Golden CD, Ostfeld RS, Redford KH, Ricketts TH et al (2013) Human health impacts of
ecosystem alteration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110(47):18753-18760.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1218656110

Yee, S., J. Bousquin, R. Bruins, T.J. Canfield, T.H. DeWitt, R. de Jesus-Crespo, B. Dyson, R. Fulford, M. Harwell,
J. Hoffman, C.J. Littles, J.M. Johnston, R.B. McKane, L. Green, M. Russell, L. Sharpe, N. Seeteram, A. Tashie,
and K. Williams. 2017. Practical Strategies for Integrating Final Ecosystem Goods and Services into

C-48


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THE GEORGE
WASHINGTON
U N IVERSITY

WASHINGTON, DC

Integrating Intersectfonality into the Exposome:

New Directions In Environmental Justice

Ami R. Zota, ScD, MS

Director of ARISE-EJ lab
Associate Professor

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health

George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health

Founding Director, Agents of Change in Environmental Justice

October 6, 2021

Long history of Black, Indigenous and Brown communities fighting
for healthy environments where they live, work, play, and pray

C-49


-------
Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in exposures persist

Air pollution

Polychlorinated	Lead

Biphenyl

Compounds

Perfluorinated
Alkyl Substances

Phthalates

and
Parabens

Flame

retardants

3

Data: Nina Martin and Renee Montagne. "Nothing Protects Black Women
from Dying in Pregnancy and Childbirth." ProPubllca. Dec 17,2017.

243%

C-50


-------
Intersectionality Exposome

JL

Environmental Justice

ir

Zota and VanNoy 2021

C-51


-------
enter
systematically
marginalized
populations

Build transdisciplinary collaborations

Reexamine approach to
health research

Integrate social
and structural
determinants

:uantify contributions of
environmental factors to
racial health disparities

Prioritize

community

engagement

C-52


-------
Black and Latinx population use more products across multiple categories

You need a miracle!

Hair products

Dodson et al., 2021
Edwards et al., unpublished
Zota and Shamasunder 2018

Sprint

Welcome to Taking Stock

TAKING STOGKj

The Taking Stock study is a community-
based research project to enhance what is
known about the products women use
every day and how these products
contribute to disparities in health.

To begin, press Continue below.

Add to My Produ...

Brand and Product name: mrs
Meyer's clean day dish soap

Cleaning

Dish liquid

Is this product labeled as "Fragrance-free"
or"Unscented"? *

Done

Cleaning wipes (e.g. Clorox
Dish liquid

sinfectan

(used i

Back Label

Is all the information on the label shown in the
frame? Is the text in focus and readable?

EFFECTIVE, TRUSTED FORmuu,
Wink:'	Mate Wtthoai

turn tauns nuoinis nuuius i pitulsq

*kU	KUDU

MTIFICUl CUM

Take Again

Skin lightening

creams

Fragranced products,
vaginal deodorants

Cosmetics

C-53


-------
Cleaning

Cosmetics

Feminine Care1

Hair Products

Personal Care2

Women used an
average of
products daily

Pest Control

0	2	4	6

Average number of products used daily

Race/ethnicity Black ฆ Latinx

Unpublished data from the Taking Stock Study
California Breast Cancer Research Program (No 23UB-6511)

1	Feminine care products include both menstrual products as well as vaginal washes and wipes

2	Persona I care products include bath and body products, oral care, and deodorants



Black



Latinx



- ^ 99 Cent Store



The most popular

|j- Amazon (Online)



retailers among

J - Bath and Body Works



women living in

- Beauty supply store





South Los Angeles

Costco



were Target and 99

J- CVS



Cents Store. *

Given to me/Gift





Ralphs





Rite Aid





>60% of Black

Sephora





wnmpn rprpix/pH

Target



V V w 1 1 1 v—ฆ 1 1 1 v—ฆ v—ฆ 1 V v—ฆ

products as gifts

Trader Joes

1

J- Ulta





Walmart



80 60

40 20 0

Percent of women



20 40 60 80
Unpublished data from the Taking Stock Study

C-54


-------
Proportion of participants who use douches

Education matters: Vaginal douche use
is highest among Black women without
college education

Black White Latinx Other
High School or less

Black White Latinx Other
Some college or more

'f

FORGE

tin

|TAKINGSTQCKSJUOY.ORB|

Zota et al.,
unpublished

Center
systematically
marginalized
populations

Build transdisciplinary collaborations

txpai
xposor

Reexamine approach to
health research

Quantify contribution
environmental factors to
racial health disparities

Prioritize

community

engagement

C-55


-------
Environmental Injustice of Beauty: An example

Type of

Less

Product use

Chemical

Potential adverse

discrimination

advantaged



exposures

outcomes



populations







Natural hair

African

Chemical hair

Parabens,

Uterine fibroids,

discrimination

American

straighteners

phthalates,

breast cancer



women



siloxanes



Zota and Shamasunder, 2018

Perceptions about hair and use of chemical straightening

products (CSPs)

Opinion of Straight Hair: Self vs. Others

M Self
H Others



I ll II

Make women
look more
beautiful

Make women

look more
professional

Make women
look younger

! p<0.05

Other's Opinions of Hairstyle and
Personal CSP Use

H Straight Hair

Curly Hair or No preference

w

<ง 8) 40
.9- o

o 
-------
Ask innovative questions to advance health equity

Center

systematically

marginalized

populations

tegrate social
and structural
erminants

Prioritize

community

engagement

Build transdisciplinary collaborations

Advancing change requires more than good science

Policy

Communication Training next gen leaders

C-57


-------
Agents of Change in
cultivate new Environmental Justice

environmental

Inject new ideas
in environmental

justice leaders



health and
climate fields



To empower emerging leaders from
historically excluded backgrounds in
science to reimagine solutions for a
just and healtj^ planet







Increase
environmental
justice literacy
among STEM
students



Make scientific

information
more accessible
to marginalized
communities

A joint initiative between GW Milken School of Public Health and Environmental Health News

ellows at a Glance

31 doctoral students, postdocs, and early career scientists

From marginalized backgrounds including first-
generation college graduates; individuals from
communities of color; and individuals with disabilities.

Muldisciplinary scholars

•	Environmental health

•	Epidemiology

ป Community health
ป Chemistry

•	Urban planning

•	Medicine

•	Sociology

•	Engineering

•	Education

•	Ecology

•	Nutrition

ป Microbiology

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Early Signs of Impact

Wide update of our original content

•	24 essays published on EHN

•	1,220,000 reads in English and Spanish

•	23 podcasts episodes

•	10,000 downloads/listens

Fellow gaining visibility as emerging leaders

•	Transitioning to tenure-track positions

•	Giving invited talks at funding agencies,
universities, and community groups

•	Publishing opinion pieces in popular media

Krystal Vasquez

Environmental injustice and
disability: Where is the research?



agentsofchangeinej.org

The intersectionalitv exposome will move us towards
environmental justice by advancing innovation in:

Research	Policy	Training

C-59


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Acknowledgements

Co-Investigators/Collaborators

•	FORGE Study: Drs, Gaby Moawad, Cherie Marfori, Andrea Raccarelli, Shuang Wang, Antonia Calafat, Lisa
Bowleg, Tamara Taggart, Nadia Khati

•	TAKING STOCK: Dr. Bhavna Shamasunder, Jan Flint, Sandy Navarro, Dr, Robin Dodson

•	Beauty Inside and Out: Lubna Ahmed, Leslie Martinez, Dr. Robert Dubrow, Marissa Chan, Taylor Morton

•	Agents of Change: Brian Bienkowski, Douglas Fischer, Gwen Ranniger, Dr. Yoshi Ornelas Van Home

GW Milken School of Public Health Research Team

•	Brenda Trejo, Roshni Rangaswamy, Samar Ahmad, MyDzung Chu, Lariah Edwards, Erin Gomez, Toni Jurious,
Angela Kim, Olivia Wilson [Former: Ruth Geller, Susanna Mitro, Brianna VanNoy, Darah Wright, Tyiesha Johnson,
Angela Stoer, Dan Dinh, Raya Hudhud, Sydney Young, Tahera Alnaseri]

Funding:

•	National Institute of Health (NIEHS R00ES019881 R01ES031065; NICHD R21HD096248)

•	National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR001876, KL.2TR001877)

•	California Breast Cancer Research Program (No 23UB-6511)

•	GW Milken School of Public Health Pilot Awards

•	GW Cancer Center, GW OVPR Cross-Disciplinary Fund, GW/Children's National CTSI

•	Forsythia Foundation, Marisla Foundation, Passport Foundation, Rachel's Network, Broad Reach, Beautycounter

Twitter: @amizota

ฆPasstheCROWN

The CROWN Act

Creating a
Respectful and
Open
World for
Natural Hair.

thecrovnact.com

Mural by Caridice Taylor,
Washington DC

C-60


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Vaginal douching use contributes to racial
differences in phthalate exposure

Vaginal Douches
Feminine Spray
Feminine Powder
Wipes/Towelettes

Tampons

150% higher
MEP levels



300

Black
women

250

Si 200

ฆ

ฆ- 150


-------
Ip

INDIANA UNIVERSITY

BLOOMINGTON

Water Infrastructure to Improve Childhood Health

and Decrease Childhood Lead Exposure

Jackie MacDonald Gibson, PhD

Professor and Chair
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
Indiana University, Bloomington

October 5, 2021

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Outline

*	Research motivation and objectives

o Racial "underbounding" and exclusion from municipal water
service as nonchemical stressors

o Effects of these stressors on children's health and wellbeing

*	Methods

o Total environment framework
o Data collection and analysis approach

*	Results

o Effects on early-childhood blood Pb
o Effects on risks for adolescent delinquent behavior

*	Potential solutions

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Municipal "Underbounding" as a
Nonchemical Stressor

"Selectively expanding] the corporate
boundary to exclude blacks."

Charles Aiken, "Race as a Factor in Municipal Underbounding"
Annals	of the Association of Amer Geographers, 1987

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-------
Underbounding Example

C-65


-------
Black Communit es at City Fr nge Are
More Likely to Be Excluded from Service

CD

Q.

O

(L 9 _

0.0	0.2	0.4	0.6	0.8	1.0

Proportion of Census Block Population That Is African American

C-66


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Underbounding and Water Service
Exclusion Create Economic Stress

"[We spend] 15 bucks a week of doing laundry [even
though] we own a perfectly functioning washing machine
that we can't use. We spend probab
on paper plates	and plastic	ut

"They went 832 feet down for my well but that cost me
$10,000 and then for them to do the hookup with all this
technology that they have to use and going down 700
feet with the pipes and the wat
$10,000."

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Additional Stress Arises from Effects
on Activities of Daily Living

Foregone
Activities
Caused by
Insufficient
Water Supply

Toilets
Showers
Laundry
Drinking
Dishes
Cooking
Bottled Water
Conservation (Other)

0

8

2 4 6 8
Number of Respondents (n=9)

10

C-68


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Lead (Pb) Exposure Risks May Be
Comparable to Flint in Water Crisis

.Q
Q.
Q.

LO

A

"O

CO
(D

35
30
25
20
15
^ 10

JZ

t 5

Q)
"co

C/)
(D
C/)

o
X

0

ฆ % of Houses > 15 ppb in Water
% of Children with Elevated Blood Lead

i&



Ward Ward Ward Ward Ward Ward Ward Ward 6

Ward 5

"O
CO
(D
_l

"O

o
o

00

"O
0)

CO
>
0)

LU

c
(D

O

Peri-Urban Wake County

SOURCE: Stillo FJ, MacDonald Gibson J. 2018. Racial disparities in access to municipal water supplies in the
American South: impacts on children's health. Int Public Heal J 10.

C-69


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Research Questions

1.	How does lack of community water service—a
nonchemical stressor-affect children's health?

o Early-life Pb exposure
o Adolescent behavioral outcomes

2.	What are some possible solutions?

C-70


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Research Questions

1.	How does lack of community water service—a
nonchemical stressor-affect children's health?

o Early-life Pb exposure
o Adolescent behavioral outcomes

2.	What are some possible solutions?

C-71


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Proposed Causal Model

Race

Lack of
municipal
water

Income

Reliance
on private
well

—i—

Location of
home

Age of
home

Corrosion
control

—i

Value of
home

Lead in
paint, dust,
soil

Lead in
tap water

Child's age

Lead in
blood

C-72


-------
Methods: Question 1—Water
Source Effects on Children's
Health

C-73


-------
Study Area: Wake County, NC

IT

P

~r

Orange

r->
>.y\.



.,'S

I

_ Durham, NC

Durham	.....

r

Granville u

i

ฃ#*• ซ ' iฃ V\

i'. ~*	V

Louisburg, NC

Franklin

Water Source
Year 2017

~v

J:/

V7

> >
ti/ ^i*	;

Archer Lodge-Clayton

",s $ ... i

Lee

City Water
• Private Well Water
City Boundaries
r	j County Boundaries

Harnett

-i

12	r \.{ ซS

Mileshfield.'NC

CLi	



Wayne

C-74


-------
Children's Outcomes (n=59,483)

Outcome

Data Source

Early-life blood Pb

NC Childhood Lead



Poisoning Prevention



Program

Teenage juvenile delinquency

NC Department of Public



Safety

C-75


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Research Design Guided by Total
Environment Framework

Policies and
Programs:

• Pb control
policies

Children's Health
Effects:

• Blood Pb

Delinquency rates

Educational

outcomes

C-76


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Curated Data Set (n=59,483) Includes
Multiple Nonchemical Stressors

Total Environment

Measures

Component



Built environment

Age of housing



Access to community water service

Social environment

Family income



Neighborhood demographics

Activities and behaviors

Residential mobility

Policies and programs

Pb control policies

Inherent characteristics

Sex



Age



Race/ethnicity

Natural environment

Season

C-77


-------
Used Regression to Estimate Water
Source Effect on Early-Life Blood Pb

T

Race

Income

Location of
home

Age of
home

Lack of
municipal
water

Reliance
on private
well

Corrosion
control

Value of
home

Lead in
paint, dust,
soil

Lead in
tap water

Child's age

Lead in
blood

= *+ + *- &./0123 43!!() + *56173( + *89:7";3(
+ *<=">?3 @#3f -I—	

C-78


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Pb Effects on Teen Behavior Estimated
via Two-Stage Least-Squares Regression

Lack of
municipal
water

Location of

~

home



Value of
' home

/



Age of
home



Lead in
paint, dust,
soil

Reliance
on private
well

Corrosion
control

Child's age

Lead in
tap water

Lead in
blood

Juvenile
record

!"#

(t

$(&'!()*+'),).
- $(&'!()*+'),)•

=2(!"#(4j35$6.)) + B;:

C-79


-------
Results: Question 1—Water
Source Effects on Children's
Health

C-80


-------
Children Lacking Community Water
Services Have Higher Blood Pb

Water source

City water (n=43,982)
Private well water (n=7,709)

0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75

Fractional Change in Blood Lead

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Many Other Nonchemical Stressors Also
Influence Early-Life Blood Pb

Water source

City water (n=43,982)
Private well water (n=7,709)
Age (months)
0-8 (n=478)
9-14 (n=39,688)
15-19 (n=3,844)
20-29 (n=8,603)
> 30 (n=6,870)
Year house was built
Before 1950 (n=3,401)
1950-1977 (n=12,102)
1978-1987 (n=7,874)
1988-1997 (n=9,908)
1998-2002 (n=10,003)
2003-2007 (10,330)
2008 or later (n=4,473)
Black population fraction
Home value (natural log)

Blood draw type
Venous (n=50,876)
Capillary (n=5,446)
Median income (natural log)
Extraterritorial jurisdiction (n=3,148)
Biological sex
Female (n=28,752)
Male (n=29,578)
Season
Winter (n=13,658)
Spring (n=14,942)
Summer (n=15,473)
Fall (n=15,410)

C-82


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Increased Blood Pb Contributes to
Increased Juvenile Delinquency Risk

Variable

Model 1: Full Data Set

Model 2: Quasi-



(n=13,580)a

Experimental Matched
Data Set (n=3,898)a b

Any Delinquency





Blood Pb (natural log) predicted from water source
and other variables (stage 1 model, Table 2)

3.27***

6.35***

Age indicator

3.05***

2.21

Male sex at birth (reference=female)

2.51***

3.44***

Black race (reference=all other)

2.78***

4.01***

Census block group median income (natural log) at

0.437***

0.284***

age 14





Census block group % Black at age 14

1.19

0.480

Serious Delinquency





Blood Pb (natural log) predicted from water source
and other variables (stage 1 model, Table 2)

4.39***

23.4***

Age indicator

2.36*

2.88

Male sex at birth (reference=female)

3.33***

2.86**

Black race (reference=all other)

3.05***

2.82**

Census block group median income (natural log) at

0.431***

0.295**

age 14





Census block group % Black at age 14

1.29

0.419

C-83


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Increased Blood Pb Contributes to
Increased Risk of Any Delinquency

Variable

Model 1:

Full Data Set
(n=13,580)a

Model 2:

Quasi-

Experimental

(n=3,898)ab

Blood Pb predicted from water
source

3 27***

6.35***

Age indicator

3.05***

2.21

Male sex at birth (reference=female)

2 51 ***

3 44***

Black race (reference=all other)

2 78***

4 Q-| ***

Block group median income, age 14

0.437***

0.284***

Block group % Black, age 14

1.19

0.480

C-84


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Risk of Serious Delinquency Also

Increased

Variable

Model 1:

Full Data Set
(n=13,580)a

Model 2:

Quasi-

Experimental

(n=3,898)ab

Blood Pb predicted from water
source

4.39***

23 4*"**

Age indicator

2.36*

2.88

Male sex at birth (reference=female)

3.33***

2.86**

Black race (reference=all other)

3.05***

2.82**

Block group median income, age 14

0.431***

0.295**

Block group % Black, age 14

1.29

0.419

C-86


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Providing Community Water Service
Expected to Decrease Delinquency

Any Complaint, Boys

14.0	14.5	15.0	15.5	16.0

Age

Black, well
water

Black,

community

water

All other
races, well
water

All other
races,
community
water


-------
Question 2: Potential Solutions

C-88


-------
Potential Solutions

*	Educate homeowners to test their well water for Pb

*	Encourage use of water filters when Pb is high

*	Extend community water service

C-89


-------
We Designed a Postcard to Promote

Water Testing

jjj UNC	

Time to Test Your Well!

You cannot see lead in well water.
You cannot smell arsenic in well water.
You cannot taste bacteria In well water.

Has it been more than a year since
you tested your well water?

It's time!

4

Fof any question* about ttm matter, contact Or. JacซMttn* MacDonaM GiMon
at gllHngปwซttw&ซr#unc.*4u

Be confident your water quality Is good.

Call today: 919-707-5910

It's Easy!

1. FOLLOW the rcvommended trying uhcdulr

2. TEST through you* rooaty hrakli drjuitmntt
or a fcxc-crrtihcd lib.

InofgiMo skH ai

ซftrpnin tacta at

, PtSTICIOCS and V

Find a County Hoalth Deportment or State-Certified Lab

VISIT

http://epi .publichealth.nc.gov/oee/wellwater/ howtotest.html

OR CALL

919-707-5910

C-90


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Randomized Trial Showed Postcard
Worked Only with Free Test Offer

Table 5. Logistic regression model for testing whether a combination of risk
information and free test offer influences water testing*

Variable

Odds of Water Test

P

Baseline**

0.038

<0.001

Intervention

Free water test postcard

1.16

0.82

Risk communication postcard

0.128

0.071

Risk communication with free test postcard

13.0

0.046

Remember receiving a postcard about well water
testing

12.1

<0.001

C-91


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We Tested Low-Cost Under-S nk Water

Filters (n=17 Homes)

C-92


-------
The Filters Effectively Removed Pb

1-30

15 —

O)

3

c
o
-*—>

2
ฆ*-ป
c
0)
o
c
o
o

.a
Q.

10-

O

5 -

<9

o

0-

I

Inf

Eff

Days of operation

31-60

CP

o

T

"Inf"

—i—

Eff.

61-90

3:

_ .b	

91-120

Co

o
o

Inf. Eff.	Inf.

Sample location

	1—

Eff.

121-150



ฐo

—I—

Inf.

—i—

Eff



211-250

ฃl.

TT

O

— I-

"inT

15 ppb

1 ppb

Eff.

Filter influent

Filter efffluent

C-93


-------
We Tested Water Before and After
Community Serv ce in Five Homes

C-94


-------
Pb Declined Below Action Level in the
Two Homes with Pb>15 ppb

Time Since Water Service Connection (Days)

C-95


-------
Pb Also Declined in the Three Houses

with Pb<15 ppb

Time Since Water Service Connection (Days)

C-96


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Summary

Nonchemical stressors in early life affect adolescent
health

o Exclusion from municipal water service increases early-life
exposure to Pb in drinking water

o This exposure increases adolescent delinquency risk

* Solutions exist

o Educate homeowners to test, treat their water

-	Education intervention worked only when test was free

-	Filters require frequent replacement and maintenance
o Extend community water service

-	Maintenance by professional engineers provides stronger
performance assurance

C-97


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Thank you!

*	EPA STAR Program

o Dr. Intaek Hahn

*	Co-Investigators

o John MacDonald, Phil Cook, Mike Fisher, Wandi Bruine de
Bruin, Keith Levine, James Harrington

*	Students

o Dr. Frank Stillo, Dr. Riley Mulhern, Erica Wood, Sydney
Lockhart, April Desclos, Ally Clonch, many others

*	Community Members

o Robert and Vanessa Lassiter, research participants

C-98


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Thank you (continued)!

*	NC Division of Public Health

o Ed Norman, Tina Hand, Melanie Napier

*	NC Department of Public Safety

o Megan Howell, Phil Maychek

*	NC Education Research Data Center

o Clara Muschkin, Kara Bonneau

C-99


-------
MacDonald Gibson Group
Relevant Publications

MacDonald Gibson, Jacqueline, Frank Stillo III, Erica Wood, Sydney Lockhart, and Wandi Bruine de
Bruine. 2021. Private well testing in peri-urban African-American communities lacking access to
regulated municipal drinking water: a mental models ap-proach to risk communication. Risk Analysis.
DOI: 10.1111/risa.13799.

Mulhern, R., B. Grubbs, K. Gray, and J. MacDonald Gibson. 2021. User experience of point-of-use water
treatment for private wells in North Carolina: Implications for outreach and well stewardship. Science
of the Total Environment 806(1): 150448. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150448

Mulhern, R., and J. MacDonald Gibson. 2020. Under-sink activated carbon water filters effectively
remove lead from private well water for over six months. Water 12:3584. DOI:
doi:10.3390/w12123584

MacDonald Gibson, J., M. Fisher, A. Clonch, John M. MacDonald, and P. Cook. 2020. Children drinking
private well water have higher blood lead than those with city water. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 117(29):16898-16907. DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2002729117

Lockhart, S., E. Wood, and J. MacDonald Gibson. 2020. Impacts of exclusion from municipal water
service on water availability: a case study. NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and
Occupational Health Policy 30(2):127-137. DOI: 10.1177/1048291120932913

C-100


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MacDonald Gibson Group
Relevant Publications (continued)

Fizer, C. M., W. Bruine de Bruin, F. J. Stillo, and J. MacDonald Gibson. 2018. Barri-ers to managing
private wells and septic systems in underserved communities: mental models of homeowner decision
making. Journal of Environmental Health 8(5):8-15.Leker, H., and J. MacDonald Gibson. 2018.
Relationship between race and community water and sewer service in North Carolina, USA. PLoS
O/VE13(3):e0193225 (pp. 1-19). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193225.

Stillo, F., and J. MacDonald Gibson. 2018. Racial disparities in access to municipal water supplies in the
American South: Impacts on children's health. International Public Health Journal 10(3):309-323.

Stillo, F., and Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson. "Exposure to Contaminated Drinking Water and Health
Disparities in North Carolina." American Journal of Public Health 107.1 (2017): 180-185.

DeFelice, Nicholas B., Jill E. Johnston, and Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson. "Reducing Emergency
Department Visits for Acute Gastrointestinal Illnesses in North Carolina (USA) by Extending
Community Water Service." Environmental Health Perspectives 24.10 (2016): 1583-1591.

Naman, Julia Marie, and Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson. "Disparities in Water and Sewer Services in
North Carolina: An Analysis of the Decision-Making Process." American Journal of Public Health
105.10 (2015): e1-e7.

MacDonald Gibson, J. et al. "Racial Disparities in Access to Community Water Supply Service in Wake
County, North Carolina." Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research 3.3 (2014):
Article 6.

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Selected Additional References

Aiken, CS. "Race as a Factor in Municipal Underbounding." Annals of the Association of American
Geographers July 2013 (1987): 37-41.

Gilbert, Peter. "The State of Exclusion: An Empirical Analysis of the Legacy of Segregated Communities in
North Carolina." UNC Center for Civil Rights. 2013.

Heaney, Christopher et al. "Use of Community-Owned and -Managed Research to Assess the

Vulnerability of Water and Sewer Services in Marginalized and Underserved Environmental Justice
Communities." Journal of environmental health 74.1 (2011): 8-17.

Heaney, Christopher D et al. "Public Infrastructure Disparities and the Microbiological and Chemical
Safety of Drinking and Surface Water Supplies in a Community Bordering a Landfill." Journal of
Environmental Health 75.10 (2013): 24-36.

Johnson, James H. et al. "Racial Apartheid in a Small North Carolina Town." The Review of Black Political
Economy 31.4 (2004): 89-107.

Joyner, Ann Moss, and Carolyn J Christman. Segregation in the Modern South: A Case Study of
Southern Moore County. Cedar Grove Institute for Sustainable Communities. 2005.

Lichter, Daniel T. etal. "Municipal Underbounding: Annexation and Racial Exclusion in Small Southern
Towns." Rural Sociology 72.1 (2007): 47-68.

Marsh, Ben, Allan M. Parnell, and Ann Moss Joyner. "Institutionalization of Racial Inequality in Local
Political Geographies." Urban Geography 31.5 (2013): 691-709.

Wilson, Sacoby M. et al. "Built Environment Issues in Unserved and Underserved African-American
Neighborhoods in North Carolina." Environmental Justice 1.2 (2008): 63-72.

C-102


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