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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Elizabeth J. Dederick, MHS, MA, Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Rm 511 A, Baltimore, MD 21205, 443-845-6097, edederic@jhsph.edu

Background: Exposure to toxic substances is an important theme in the environmental justice human rights movement. In order to address this social injustice, appropriate assessment tools are needed to characterize exposure to toxic chemicals. A limitation of exposure assessment models is that they rely on the quality, quantity and diversity of previously collected data. If models do not incorporate all scenarios that create the potential for hazardous exposure, it is plausible that chemical policies informed by models are not adequately protective. This study compares exposure estimates generated by two exposure and risk assessment models: a conventional model currently in use by US regulatory agencies and a tribal model designed to incorporate exposure scenarios unique to Native Americans. Methods: The tribal model will be enhanced by the addition of an “artisan” module which will incorporate exposure scenarios attributable to basketweaving. Activity pattern data will be retrieved from basketweavers across the US and incorporated into the model. Selected chemicals of concern to tribes will be analyzed in each model and estimated exposures will be compared. Sensitivity analyses will be conducted to identify variables contributing to differences in exposures. Results: It is anticipated that the tribal model will indicate exposure to tribes via unique scenarios, thus contributing to the overall risk of hazardous exposure to tribes. Summary: The study will examine the hypothesis that chemical regulations informed by conventional exposure assessment models are not sufficiently protective of US subpopulations and inform recommendations on exposure assessment practice and risk policy.

Learning Objectives: