Our approach is translational, multidisciplinary, and integrative. Specific Aims and individual Projects and Cores were designed to respond to SRP Mandates fully. Plastic pollution, exposure to phthalates, and the resulting health problems are all borne of human activities and result from environmental negligence and devastation. Below, we address how our UM-SRP addresses the Mandates of the SRP Program. Because of wide-spread contamination by phthalates and their ubiquitous presence in Superfund sites, data generated by the UM-SRP can be generalized and will be applicable to other Superfund sites, other regions of the US, and globally.
Mandate 1: The Effects of Hazardous Substances on Human Health
Health effects research is at the center of the UM-SRP and will be accomplished by all components of the UM-SRP. The biomedical research Project 1 will determine the risk of exposure to phthalates on women’s reproductive health and infertility. Project 1 will also work on the notion that quorum sensing molecules (QSM) produced by bacteria can serve as a fertility biomarker for women with high environmental exposure to these toxicants. These findings will be communicated to exposed populations by the CEC and the ART Core and to the general public and legislators. In addition, biomedical research Project 2 meets Mandate 1 by designing highly mechanistic studies to assess the impact of cumulative risk of exposure to phthalates and circadian rhythm disruptions on placenta-mediated pregnancy complications.
Environmental Science & Engineering Project 3 is focused on developing new sensing platforms for phthalates and their degradation products in environmental samples. The goal of Project 3 is the application of novel technologies for on-site sample monitoring. The sensing platforms will be cross-tested in a rigorous environment by the RSC. The technology will be adapted to be used by Project 1 and Project 2 to evaluate levels of phthalates in biological fluids or tissues. Such analyses will allow a direct correlation between the health status and bioaccumulation of these toxicants. Thus, Project 3 will provide a range of innovative tools of great significance, likely reaching beyond the current project and contributing to detecting these hazardous chemicals in various samples and locations.
The CEC, in collaboration with the RETCC, will engage community members through the participation in environmental sampling for Projects 3 and 4, and the RSC. Projects 1 and 2 will support these efforts by providing critical health risk information. Project 4 will provide phthalate degradation products to Project 2 to test their toxicity compared to parent compounds. The ART Core will provide a translation of the research findings of Projects 1-4 to the community. Finally, the DMAC will integrate these efforts by providing comprehensive consultation and support for data management, ranging from conceptualizing to generating and publishing datasets, and archiving them.
Mandate 2: Risk Assessment Research
Projects 1 and 2 will address risk assessment by establishing the role of phthalates on the susceptibility to diseases, namely, infertility and pregnancy complications. The impact of these toxicants is likely to be altered by environmental stressors. Therefore, Project 2 will also address risk assessment by studies on how circadian rhythm disruptions affect the toxicity of phthalates, resulting in pregnancy complications. Project 3 will contribute to the risk assessment by developing new sensing platforms for determining phthalates and their degradation products. The technology will be field-deployable and can be used to assess these chemicals as environmental stressors affecting human health. Project 4 will participate in Mandate 2 by providing various mixtures of degradation products for testing. The community members will be engaged in participatory research by the CEC by providing environmental samples for analysis. The RETCC will coordinate trainees participating both in research and community engagement. The RSC will provide analytical and quantitative services to test and calibrate the outputs of contaminant sensors over a range of simulated environmental conditions. DMAC will provide support for effective data management and data analysis. Findings from the risk assessment studies will be successfully communicated to the stakeholders by the Research Translation Director and her Team, with the major goal being to further influence the legislature on plastic pollution and phthalate use.
Mandate 3: Detection Research
Technology development in Project 3 includes the development of novel sensing platforms for detecting phthalates in environmental samples. This novel technology would allow us to assess the risk of exposure facing the communities near the HAFB Superfund site. This will be done in collaboration and coordination with the CEC, as one of the goals of Project 3 is to develop a novel platform for performing on-site contamination detection. Moreover, the DMAC will work with the investigators in Project 3 to accurately sample the contaminated sites. Project 1 and Project 2 will adapt the methodology developed by Project 3 to evaluate levels of phthalates in biological fluids or tissues. The RSC will detect phthalate contamination using already established, validated, and published protocols. In addition, conditions determined by the sensing platforms will be employed by Project 4 for remediation optimization. Furthermore, the Research Translation Team will work with the investigators of Projects 1-4 to devise a means to communicate their findings to the affected communities and to other stakeholders. In collaboration with the CEC and Projects 1-3, the Research Translation Team will inform the affected communities of the health hazards of environmental toxicants. The RETCC will coordinate trainees’ involvement in this research and activities.
Mandate 4. Methods to reduce the amount and toxicity of hazardous substances
Project 4 of the UM-SRP is focused on chemical remediation research and will evaluate the hypothesis that photoactivatable metal oxide structures with integrated catalytic nanodomains are sustainable, highly efficient degradation systems for priority pollutants associated with plastics-based pollution, where the sample toxicity can be directly monitored as a function of reaction progression. Thus, Project 4 will develop novel technologies for the remediation of phthalates in the environment. Such systems will be designed to function as treatment reactors of drinking and irrigation water. Project 4 will include a component of studying the toxicity of phthalates degradation as a function of reaction time, which can inform Project 2 of the degradation kinetics. The RTS will test the post-remediation samples for phthalate contamination.
Importantly, we will actively engage the communities, via the CEC and the Research Translation Team, to develop strategies to reduce their exposure through prevention/intervention strategies and participatory research. For example, we will work with the community members on developing advisory for plastic use and recycling and using local resources that may be contaminated with plastic toxicants. In addition, Project 4 investigators will work with Project 3, the CEC, and the RETCC to get information on what type of plastic toxicants are located on specific sites that can be targeted for pilot remediation studies. Then, the communities will be informed by Project 4 of the contamination levels of those locations. An important part in reducing exposure will be to engage students in participatory research as they will present their findings at science fairs and competitions. These activities will be achieved by engaging in school curricula via the CEC, ART-Core, RETCC, and our community partners, namely, Dream in Green.