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As part of our continued effort to highlight innovative approaches to improve the health and environment of communities, the Journal is pleased to publish a bimonthly column from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. The purpose of this column is to inform readers of ATSDR's activities and initiatives to better understand the relationship between exposure to hazardous substances in the environment, its impact on human health, and how to protect public health. The conclusions of this column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of ATSDR or CDC. Kelsey Benson is an environmental epidemiologist at ATSDR. Elizabeth Irvin-Barnwell currently serves as the acting chief of the Environmental Epidemiology Branch at ATSDR. Angela Ragin-Wilson currently serves as the acting deputy director of the Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences at ATSDR. Pat Breysse is the director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health/ATSDR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a column from the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) which discusses the Biomonitoring of Great Lakes Populations (BGLP) program. The program aims to assess persistent toxic substances in people exposed to contaminants and to use this data to help guide public health programs. The accomplishments of the study and the ongoing and future studies are also mentioned.

The 32-mile Detroit River and surrounding tributaries have been designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern due to pollution from decades of municipal and industrial discharges, sewer overflows and urban development. Key pollutants in fish samples from the Detroit River include mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), dioxins and furans. A biomonitoring study was conducted to assess exposures to these persistent toxic substances in Detroit urban shoreline anglers who may be at high exposure risk due to consumption of locally caught fish. Using a modified venue-based sampling approach, 287 adult shoreline anglers along the Detroit River were recruited and participated in the program. Study participants provided blood and urine specimens and completed a questionnaire following informed consent. We examined percentile estimates for total blood mercury, PCBs, DDE, and dioxin-like total toxic equivalency (TEQ) concentrations among study participants. Multiple linear regression was used to identify important predictors of contaminant concentrations. Participants consumed a median of 64 Detroit River caught fish meals in the past year. The Detroit urban anglers' median total blood mercury concentrations was 3.2 times higher than that for the general adult U.S. population. PCB concentrations among the Detroit anglers aged 18-39 years were higher than the U.S. population of the same race/ethnicity. Elevated levels of DDE and total TEQ concentrations were not observed in the cohort. Eating more locally caught fish was associated with higher total blood mercury and serum PCB concentrations. The biomonitoring data served to inform public health officials and help guide environmental public health actions to reduce harmful exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 32-mile Detroit River and surrounding tributaries have been designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern due to pollution from decades of municipal and industrial discharges, sewer overflows and urban development. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services conducted a biomonitoring study to assess exposures to persistent toxic substances in Detroit urban shoreline anglers who may be at high exposure risk due to consumption of locally caught fish. Using a modified venue-based sampling approach, 287 adult shoreline anglers along the Detroit River were recruited and participated in the program. Study participants provided blood and urine specimens and completed a questionnaire interview. In this report, we examine percentile estimates for blood lead, blood manganese, urine arsenic, urine mercury, urine cadmium, organochlorine pesticides in serum (mirex, hexachlorobenzene, chlordane), and serum polybrominated biphenyl 153 (PBB 153) concentrations among study participants. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of contaminant concentrations. The Detroit urban anglers' blood lead concentrations were 2 times higher than the general adult U.S. population (median (95% CI): 2.9 μg/dL (1.8–2.3) vs. 0.94 μg/dL (0.90–0.98)). PBB 153 levels were 1.8 times higher than the general adult U.S. population at the 95th percentile (95th percentile, 95% CI: 62.7 ng/g of lipid, 53.2–75.2 vs. 34.6 ng/g of lipid, 12.8–66.8). Percentile estimates of the other study pollutants were similar to background levels found in the general U.S. population. Eating more locally caught fish was not associated with increased body burdens for any of the contaminants examined in this report. Higher blood lead was associated with increased age, male sex, current smoking, residing in a home built before 1960, an annual income less than $25,000, and a work history of lead paint removal. Evidence of PBB exposure in our study cohort likely reflects the continued effect of a widespread contamination of livestock feed in 1973 among Michigan's lower peninsula population. These study results help determine if the pollutants examined warrant further consideration in subsequent population-based biomonitoring of frequent consumers of fish from the Detroit River and surrounding waterways. The biomonitoring data from this study also served to inform public health officials regarding the potential need for environmental public health actions to reduce harmful exposures. • Shoreline anglers along the Detroit River had slightly elevated blood lead levels compared to the general U.S. population. • Blood lead levels were not associated with locally caught fish consumption. • Organochlorine pesticides among shoreline anglers were comparable to levels found in the general U.S. population. • Elevated PBB153 among anglers indicates the continued effect of widespread livestock feed contamination in 1973 in Michigan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]