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The effect of misunderstanding the chemical properties of environmental contaminants on exposure beliefs: a case involving dioxins.

ABSTRACT: Chemical properties of contaminants lead them to behave in particular ways in the environment and hence have specific pathways to human exposure. If residents of affected communities lack awareness of these properties, however, they could make incorrect assumptions about where and how exposure occurs. We conducted a mailed survey of 904 residents of Midland and Saginaw counties in Michigan, USA to assess to what degree residents of a community with known dioxin contamination appear to understand the hydrophobic nature of dioxins and the implications of that fact on different potential exposure pathways. Participants assessed whether various statements about dioxins were true, including multiple statements assessing beliefs about dioxins in different types of water. Participants also stated whether they believed different exposure pathways were currently significant sources of dioxin exposure in this community. A majority of residents believed that dioxins can be found in river water that has been filtered to completely remove all particulates, well water, and even city tap water, beliefs which are incongruous with the hydrophobic nature of dioxins. Mistrust of government and personal concern about dioxins predicted greater beliefs about dioxins in water. In turn, holding more beliefs about dioxins in water predicted beliefs that drinking and touching water are currently significant exposure pathways for dioxins. Ensuring that community residents' mental models accurately reflect the chemical properties of different contaminants can be important to helping them to adjust their risk perceptions and potentially their risk mitigation behaviors accordingly.

SUBMITTER: Zikmund-Fisher BJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3652325 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The effect of misunderstanding the chemical properties of environmental contaminants on exposure beliefs: a case involving dioxins.

Zikmund-Fisher Brian J BJ Turkelson Angela A Franzblau Alfred A Diebol Julia K JK Allerton Lindsay A LA Parker Edith A EA

The Science of the total environment 20130205

Chemical properties of contaminants lead them to behave in particular ways in the environment and hence have specific pathways to human exposure. If residents of affected communities lack awareness of these properties, however, they could make incorrect assumptions about where and how exposure occurs. We conducted a mailed survey of 904 residents of Midland and Saginaw counties in Michigan, USA to assess to what degree residents of a community with known dioxin contamination appear to understand ...[more]

PMID: 23391895

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Project description:BackgroundAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition that is characterized by progressive loss of motor neurons and the accumulation of aggregated TAR DNA Binding Protein-43 (TDP-43, gene: TARDBP). Increasing evidence indicates that environmental factors contribute to the risk of ALS. Dioxins, related planar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental contaminants that activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-activated, PAS family transcription factor. Recently, exposure to these toxicants was identified as a risk factor for ALS.MethodsWe examined levels of TDP-43 reporter activity, transcript and protein. Quantification was done using cell lines, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and mouse brain. The target samples were treated with AHR agonists, including 6-Formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ, a potential endogenous ligand, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo(p)dioxin, and benzo(a)pyrene, an abundant carcinogen in cigarette smoke). The action of the agonists was inhibited by concomitant addition of AHR antagonists or by AHR-specific shRNA.ResultsWe now report that AHR agonists induce up to a 3-fold increase in TDP-43 protein in human neuronal cell lines (BE-M17 cells), motor neuron differentiated iPSCs, and in murine brain. Chronic treatment with AHR agonists elicits over 2-fold accumulation of soluble and insoluble TDP-43, primarily because of reduced TDP-43 catabolism. AHR antagonists or AHR knockdown inhibits agonist-induced increases in TDP-43 protein and TARDBP transcription demonstrating that the ligands act through the AHR.ConclusionsThese results provide the first evidence that environmental AHR ligands increase TDP-43, which is the principle pathological protein associated with ALS. These results suggest novel molecular mechanisms through which a variety of prevalent environmental factors might directly contribute to ALS. The widespread distribution of dioxins, PCBs and PAHs is considered to be a risk factor for cancer and autoimmune diseases, but could also be a significant public health concern for ALS.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Pregnant women and children are especially vulnerable to exposures to food contaminants, and a balanced diet during these periods is critical for optimal nutritional status. OBJECTIVES:Our objective was to study the association between diet and measured blood and urinary levels of environmental contaminants in mother-child pairs from six European birth cohorts (n=818 mothers and 1,288 children). METHODS:We assessed the consumption of seven food groups and the blood levels of organochlorine pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and heavy metals and urinary levels of phthalate metabolites, phenolic compounds, and organophosphate pesticide (OP) metabolites. Organic food consumption during childhood was also studied. We applied multivariable linear regressions and targeted maximum likelihood based estimation (TMLE). RESULTS:Maternal high (?4?times/week) versus low (<2?times/week) fish consumption was associated with 15% higher PCBs [geometric mean (GM) ratio=1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.29], 42% higher perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA) (GM?ratio=1.42; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.68), 89% higher mercury (Hg) (GM?ratio=1.89; 95% CI: 1.47, 2.41) and a 487% increase in arsenic (As) (GM?ratio=4.87; 95% CI: 2.57, 9.23) levels. In children, high (?3?times/week) versus low (<1.5?times/week) fish consumption was associated with 23% higher perfluorononanoate (PFNA) (GM?ratio=1.23; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.40), 36% higher PFUnDA (GM?ratio=1.36; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.64), 37% higher perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) (GM?ratio=1.37; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.54), and >200% higher Hg and As [GM?ratio=3.87 (95% CI: 1.91, 4.31) and GM?ratio=2.68 (95% CI: 2.23, 3.21)] concentrations. Using TMLE analysis, we estimated that fish consumption within the recommended 2-3 times/week resulted in lower PFAS, Hg, and As compared with higher consumption. Fruit consumption was positively associated with OP metabolites. Organic food consumption was negatively associated with OP metabolites. DISCUSSION:Fish consumption is related to higher PFAS, Hg, and As exposures. In addition, fruit consumption is a source of exposure to OPs. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5324.

Dataset Information

The effect of misunderstanding the chemical properties of environmental contaminants on exposure beliefs: a case involving dioxins.

Publications

The effect of misunderstanding the chemical properties of environmental contaminants on exposure beliefs: a case involving dioxins.

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