CHAPTER TWO: TOXICOLOGIC RESEARCH AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
Levels of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, an enzyme involved in
metabolism of certain chemicals in the body, correlate with exposures
to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This enzyme may prove to be a
viable biomarker.
In a study on rats, oral
exposure to mercury
Minority Health Professions
induced an increase in
Foundation Institutions
blood cholesterol across
Charles R. Drew University of
two generations. This
Medicine and Science
may indicate that adults
exposed to mercury (and
Florida A & M University
their children) could be at
risk for altered
Meharry Medical College
cholesterol metabolism.
Morehouse School of Medicine
Lead in the soil may
Texas Southern University
contribute as much or
more to inner-city
Tuskegee University
children's body burden
than lead from paint.
Xavier University
Bone-lead stores from
past exposures may
contribute to hypertension during pregnancy by increasing the pool
of bioavailable lead in the women's serum.
Great Lakes Human Health Effects Research Program
The Great Lakes Human Health Effects Research Program is intended to
build on, and amplify, the results of past and ongoing fish-consumption
research in the Great Lakes basin, using existing structures and institutions
already involved in human health research. This ATSDR-supported research
program studies known at-risk populations to further define the human health
consequences of exposure to persistent toxic substances identified in the Great
Lakes Basin. In FY 1999, 11 manuscripts and nine abstracts describing research
under this program were published and presented at professional conferences.
To date, the program has published more than 38 manuscripts in peer-
reviewed journals.
During FY 1999, program accomplishments included the following:
ATSDR, in collaboration with EPA, has updated the manuscript, The
Public Health Implications of Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls
(PCBs), as part of the Clean Water Action Plan for FY 1998. The recent
research findings of the Great Lakes research program are an
essential component of this paper. This publication is accessible
through the ATSDR Web site and will be published in Toxicology and
Industrial Health. In addition, ATSDR provided Great Lakes research
findings for the EPA Clean Action Plan annual report for FY 1999.
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