CORE--EXPOSURE FACILITY

Harvard University (Medical School), Boston MA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Description: The Exposures Facility Core has seven components: 1) Organic chemistry laboratory, 2) Inorganic chemistry laboratory, 3) Microbiology laboratory Particle measurements (aerosol properties) laboratory, 4) Metal analysis laboratory, 5) Radiation laboratory, 6) Inhalation laboratory. The aims of this core are to maintain the analytical equipment, to facilitate quality control/quality assurance programs, to provide staff and Center faculty with flexibility to develop/adopt analytical methods, and to provide training and supervision to students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scientists. All laboratories have written standard operating procedures and quality assurance programs, many of which include interlaboratory testing. The organic chemistry laboratory has analyzed breast milk and cord blood samples for PCBs as part of a study of the effect of low levels of PCBs on reproductive outcomes in New Bedford, and this work will be extended to examine reproductive effects of PCBs in a Russian city contaminated by PCBs. They have also participated in several interlaboratory studies. The inorganic chemistry laboratory has developed an annular denuder system and methods for studying acidic aerosols and gases, ammonia, and passive and active ozone samplers. The environmental microbiology laboratory has developed methods for assessing fungi, bacteria, endotoxin and allergens in bulk dust and air samples. The aerosol properties laboratory specializes in the generation and characterization of particles. The laboratory has developed an ambient particle concentrator for use in animal and human exposure studies. Work is currently in progress on determining the partitioning between gas and particle phase of semi-volatile organic compounds. The metals/aquatic laboratory has studied samples of metal exposures of workers, in sediments and biota of Boston and New Bedford harbors, and in water along the US-Mexican border, and arsenic in the toenails of Taiwanese as part of a study of bladder and skin cancer. A future project will study the bioavailability of heavy metals in contaminated marine sediments. The radiation biology laboratory has several unique radiation sources, including an X-ray generator, an high intensity cobalt source, and an irradiation chamber for animals. Members of the Biochemical and Environmental Toxicology and the Radiobiology and Environmental Carcinogenesis Cores have used these devices to produce "feed layers" of cells for studies of the growth of differentiated cells an tissues in vitro and in studies of DNA damage and repair. The inhalation laboratory provides researchers with the facilities and technical expertise to expose animals to various types of air pollutants, including ozone, sulfur dioxide, particles, fly ash, ethylene oxide, and cigarette smoke, and to monitor their pulmonary responses, including ventilatory parameters and pulmonary mechanics, to these exposures. Studies conducted include the examination of various mechanisms or markers of ozone induced lung injury, the role of adhesion molecules and ctytokines in epithelial injury and repair, the role of sensory neuropeptides found in C-fibers in ozone-induced lung injury and altered airway responsiveness, and the use of SO2 exposure to generate animal models of chronic bronchitis. The mechanisms of mortality and morbidity associated with urban exposure to particles is being studies by exposing dogs and rats to concentrated ambient particles. Future plans include evaluation of the role of adhesion molecules in the airway hyper-responsiveness characteristic of ozone exposure, and further work on the development of biomarkers of ozone exposure. Physiologic responses, e.g., measures of ventilation, to inhaled gases or particles can be monitored.