Mining, handling, processing, and personal or commercial use of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite have led to widespread contamination of the Libby, Montana, area. We initiated a medical testing program in response to reports of respiratory illness in the community. The purpose of this analysis was to identify and quantify asbestos-related radiographic abnormalities among persons exposed to vermiculite in Libby and to examine associations between these outcomes and participants' self-reported exposures. A cross-sectional interview and medical testing were conducted in Libby from July through November 2000 and from July through September 2001. A total of 7,307 persons who had lived, worked, or played in Libby for at least 6 months before 31 December 1990 completed the interview. Of those, 6,668 participants ≥ 18 years of age received chest radiographs to assess the prevalence of pleural and interstitial abnormalities. We observed pleural abnormalities in 17.8% of participants and interstitial abnormalities in < 1% of participants undergoing chest radiography. We examined 29 occupational, recreational, household, and other exposure pathways in the analysis. The prevalence of pleural abnormalities increased with increasing number of exposure pathways, ranging from 6.7% for those who reported no apparent exposures to 34.6% for those who reported ≥ 12 pathways. The factors most strongly associated with pleural abnormalities were being a former W.R. Grace worker, being older, having been a household contact of a W.R. Grace worker, and being a male. In addition to being a former W.R. Grace worker, environmental exposures and other nonoccupational risk factors were also important predictors of asbestos-related radiographic abnormalities.

Urinary hydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) are commonly used in biomonitoring to assess exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Similar to other biologically non-persistent chemicals, OH-PAHs have relatively short biological half-lives (4.4-35 hours). Little information is available on their variability in urinary concentrations over time in non-occupationally exposed subjects. This study was designed to (i) study the variability of 9 urinary OH-PAH metabolite concentrations over time and (ii) calculate sample size requirements for future epidemiological studies based on spot urine, first morning void and 24-hour void sampling. Individual urine samples (n = 427) were collected during one week from 8 nonoccupationally exposed adults. We recorded the time and volume of each urine excretion, dietary details, and the driving activities of the participants. Within subjects, the coefficients of variation (CV) for the wet-weight concentration of OH-PAHs in all samples ranged from 45% to 297%; creatinine adjustment reduced the CV to 19-288% (p < 0.001; paired t-test). The simulated 24-hour void concentrations were the least variable measure, with CVs ranging 13-182% for the 9 OH-PAHs. Within-day variability contributed on average 84%, and between-day variability accounted for 16% of the total variance of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-PYR). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) of 1-PYR levels were 0.55 for spot urine samples, 0.60 for first-morning voids, and 0.76 for 24-hour voids, indicating a high degree of correlation between urine measurements collected from the same subject over time. Sample size calculations were performed to estimate the number of subjects needed for detecting differences in geometric mean at a statistical power of 80% for spot urine, first-morning, and 24-hour void sampling. These data will aid in the design of future studies of PAHs and possibly other biologically non-persistent chemicals and the interpretation of their analytical results.

Non-occupational inhalation and ingestion exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been studied in 8 non-smoking volunteers through personal air sampling and urinary biomonitoring. The study period was divided into 4 segments (2 days/segment), including weekdays with regular commute and weekends with limited traffic related exposures; each segment had a high or low PAH diet. Personal air samples were collected continuously from the subjects while at home, at work, and while commuting to and from work. All urine excretions were collected as individual samples during the study. In personal air samples, 28 PAHs were measured, and in urine samples 9 mono-hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PAHs) from 4 parent PAHs (naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene and pyrene) were measured. Naphthalene was found at higher concentrations in air samples collected at the subjects' residences, whereas PAHs with four or more aromatic rings were found at higher levels in samples taken while commuting. Urinary OH-PAH biomarker levels increased following reported high inhalation and/or dietary exposure. On days with a low PAH diet, the total amount of inhaled naphthalene during each 24-hour period was well correlated with the amount of excreted naphthols, as was, to a lesser extent, fluorene with its urinary metabolites. During days with a high dietary intake, only naphthalene was significantly correlated with its excreted metabolite. These findings suggest that this group of non-occupational subjects were exposed to naphthalene primarily through indoor air inhalation, and exposed to other PAHs such as pyrene mainly through ingestion.

A single unconfirmed abnormal is usually insufficient to establish sensitization for an apparently healthy person. When the prevalence of beryllium sensitization in a group is high, however, even a single abnormal BeLPT can be a strong predictor.

Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) are among the top 10 pollutants of global public health concern. Studies have shown that exposures to these metals produce severe adverse effects. However the mechanisms underlying these effects, particularly joint toxicities, are poorly understood in humans. The objective of this investigation was to identify and characterize prevalent combinations of these metals and their species in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) population to provide background data for future studies of potential metal interactions. Exposure to each metal was defined as urine or blood levels ≥ respective medians of the NHANES 2007–2012 participants ≥6 years (n=7408). Adjusted-odds ratios (adj-OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were determined for demographic factors (age, gender, and race/ethnicity). All models included two additional covariates, cotinine and body mass index (BMI). Species-specific analysis was also conducted for As and Hg including iAs (urinary arsenous acid and/or arsenic acid), met-iAs (urinary monomethylarsonic acid and/or dimethylarsinic acid), and oHg (blood methyl-mercury and/or ethyl-mercury). For combinations of As and Hg species, age- and gender-specific prevalence was determined among NHANES 2011–2012 participants (n=2342). Approximately 49.3% of the U.S. population were exposed to a combination of three or more metals. The most prevalent unique specific combinations were Pb/Cd/Hg/As, Pb/Cd/Hg, and Pb/Cd. Age was consistently associated with these combinations: adj-ORs ranged from 10.9 (Pb/Cd) to 11.2 (Pb/Cd/Hg/As). Race/ethnicity was significant for Pb/Cd/Hg/As. Among women of reproductive age, frequency of oHg/iAs/met-iAS and oHg/met-iAs was 22.9 and 40.3%, respectively. These findings of metals and their species in human population may help prioritize efforts to assess joint toxicities and their impact on public health.