Emerging Contaminants and Issues of Concern Research Program

National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The goal of the ECIC research program is to develop strategies to provide high-quality data and knowledge to decision-makers and affected communities in a timely manner to address contemporary public health issues. These strategies include scoping activities to proactively identify environmental conditions that lead to the release of new hazards, increases in exposure to previously contained hazards, increases in environmentally related disease, and gaps in capabilities that, if addressed, would improve response to issues of concern. Emerging contaminant exposures or health conditions are typically highly visible issues that may be affected by outside factors (i.e., political, legal, and societal). While there are challenges in addressing time-sensitive issues of concern, there are also rewards: benefits to public health, the advancement of science, and expansion of collaborations. Our portfolio consists of program projects/activities for developing strategies and interactions with partners on problems related to specific ECIC. Our work in the last year has focused on: 1. Building a stakeholder network and strategies. The ECIC team organized and hosted an international workshop (virtual) called “Sharing Strategies to Move from Reactive to Proactive Approaches to Identify New Environmental Concerns” in 2024. At the workshop, speakers from around the world provided context and issues regarding strategies on horizon scanning with multiple opportunities for speakers and the audience to interact via break-out groups. The ECIC team is now developing a commentary synthetizing information and discussion, focusing on challenges and models for facilitating communication among experts involved in horizon scanning. ”The commentary will inform ECIC next steps for establishing a framework to advancing collaboration with the horizon scanning community. ECIC members also participate in interagency or external activities related to emerging contaminants such as the NIEHS Disaster Research Response (DR2) network, the cross-Federal Chemicals of Emerging Concern coordination teams of Non-Targeted Analysis and Effects-Based Monitoring (NTA and EBM) and Risk Characterization (RC). 2. Management of our ECIC project portfolio. The East Palestine Project, an ECIC program team-initiated project, is a rapid, phased scoping review that identifies known health hazards and evidence gaps of over 20 chemicals released from the 2023 Norfolk Southern Railway freight train derailment and response in East Palestine, Ohio, USA. The goal of the report was to inform researchers conducting community studies, and it was originally developed for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop on this disaster. Following the workshop, the team revised the draft report as a manuscript (Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, in press), “Identifying the known and unknown health hazard information for chemical disasters: A phased scoping review of the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.” As part of the manuscript, an infographic highlighting the report findings in a user-friendly format was developed. It will be posted on the ECIC webpage to facilitate communication to the public. Ongoing studies include the project addressing the chemical exposome in cord blood of infants and their mothers in three different regions of NC continues with quantifying about 60 suspect contaminants in ~900 maternal/cord blood samples. Approaches to filtering and validating chemical analysis is ongoing. The Brominated Azo Dye project to evaluate the toxicity of chemical dyes is progressing with 7-day studies completed, while 28-day, genetic toxicity, metabolomic, and immune toxicity studies are ongoing. The evaluation of the genotoxicity and ADME profile of multiple p-phenylenediamines (PPDs), tire stabilizers found in the environment, is progressing as a number of parent and quinone metabolites within the p-phenylenediame (PPD) class have been procured and in vitro metabolism experiments are being performed. Studies investigating in vitro genetic toxicology and in vivo toxicokinetic studies of select PPDs are being initiated. This project is associated with a wider Federal working group. Thallium is a heavy metal, sometimes found in drinking water, and known to induce a broad spectrum of adverse health effects in humans. The thallium TK/ADME project to evaluate potential differences in ADME from drinking water and food consumption is ongoing with anticipated project publication in FY26. The project to characterize perinatal and subchronic toxicity of thallium continues with the project publication expected in FY26. As part of the Interagency agreement with FDA NCTR, ECIC supports the “NanoCore, Nano Standards and Nanoplastic Scoping” program under Anil Patri, Ph.D., FDA. Studies close to or are in preparation for publication are the evaluation of neuroinflammatory elements with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), which evaluated brain levels of mediators of inflammation, metals, and persistent organic pollutants between AD brains and elderly controls. The study of chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity of sulfolane, a water contaminant in local water supplies near refineries, underwent peer review in FY25 and is expected to be published soon. The boron study evaluating for potential reproductive and developmental toxicity during early postnatal life due to concerns of infant exposures, is being drafted with expected publication in FY26. 3. Development of new projects. The ECIC reviewed and approved an investigation into the presence of microplastics (Jean Harry, Ph.D., DTT Mechanistic Toxicology Branch, Project Lead). Recent studies report high levels of micro- or nanoplastics in human and animal tissues suggesting this exposure is a major concern. This project aims to explore the presence of plastics in tissues across decades from stored samples and validate analytical approaches. Rapid Review Systematic review methods. The development of rapid systematic review methods for ECIC and disasters is another program-initiated project approved in May 2024. The concepts arose in part from a request by NIEHS DR2 to add it to its resource portal of tools. Project initiation was paused until the completion of the East Palestine Phased Scoping Review manuscript, which has informed the development of these methods. ECIC is collaborating with members of the DTT Integrative Health Assessment Branch, which has expertise in systematic review method development and initiation.