Nriagu Lab - Trace Metals, Human Health and the Environment

Research activities in recent years include: natural and anthropogenic sources of trace metals at the local, regional and global scales; potential impacts of global change on metal cycles; processes and mechanisms of cycling of pollutants (especially heavy metals) in air, water and soil leading to human exposure; biomarkers of exposure and effects of metals from analysis of body fluid and tissue samples; trace metals in human oral environment; water quality issues in the Great Lakes; behavior of metal ions and oxyanions in water treatment systems; environmental risk factors for asthma; environmental justice within the community-based research framework; lead pollution and lead poisoning in communities in various parts of the world; chemistry of arsenic in groundwater; dermal and carcinogenic effects of exposure to arsenic in drinking water. Some of the research has been conducted in the developing countries.

Research Areas

Trace Metals

>> Arsenic and Bladder Cancer Research in Southeastern Michigan The health risks associated with long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking are still not well understood. Our research deals with the effects of arseninc exposure at elevated (in MIchigan) and high (Nadia Province, West Bengal, India) levels. The primary goal of the Michigan is to assess the effects of exposure to elevated levels of arsenic in drinking water as a risk factor in the development of bladder cancer in the population of the 11 counties of the State. The study consists of four elements: (a) assessment of current and lifetime exposures to arsenic in drinking water using an intelligent space-time information system; (b) biomonitoring of arsenic intakes by analyzing toenail and urine samples, (c) modeling the relationships between arsenic exposure and bladder cancer in a cohort of 1400 cases and controls; and (d) assessment of arsenic metabolites in urine samples as biomarkers of exposure and susceptibility to disease. The project in West Bengal deals with the timing of arsenic exposure and latency effects in the development of skin lesions. The studies are being conducted by a team of experts in environmental health, epidemiology and geostatistics.

Environmental Justice

>> Development of Indoor Air Quality Education and Information Materials This project has developed a multi-media training material (combining text, animation, pictures, and audio-visuals) on indoor air quality and asthma. The modules include the risk factors for asthma, a virtual home showing locations of asthma triggers, resource guide, and a home assessment tool. Questions are included at the end of some modules to test the grasp of material covered. A large report which formed the basis for the multi-media presentation is included as text file. Copies of the CD-ROM containing the training material is available free from the principal author (J. Nriagu)
>> Environmental Impacts on Arab-Americans in Metro Detroit The "South End" neighborhood in Dearborn, one of the most polluted areas of Michigan, serves as an immigrant reception area for a low-income, predominantly Arab American population. The focus of this study is to assess the exposures of the Arab American population, especially in this area, to environmental contaminants in their home and neighborhood. Specific aims of the project include: (I). Create a Community Council, a community action partnership involving representatives of various community based organizations, environmental justice organizations, neighborhood associations, local Arab American business council, health services providers, Detroit and Wayne County Public Health Department, local schools, and other environmental justice organizations, to strengthen the community's overall ability to eliminate environmental health disparities among the Arab Americans and promote environmental justice; (II). Expand the needs assessment process aimed at gauging existing experience and knowledge within the community, and developing consensus among community members about critical environmental health concerns; (III). Conduct a health assessment involving 600 households to be used in selecting the study population; (IV). Develop and implement a culturally appropriate household communication/intervention action plan to (a) increase knowledge of family members about environmental health concerns identified as priorities, such as outdoor air pollution and/or asthma; (b) inform residents about actions they can take regarding indoor/outdoor air pollution (or other environmental concern identified as a priority); (c) improve the health status of participants with respect to the environmental health endpoints of concern; (d) maximize participants' use of available medical, environmental and other services/resources; (V). Design a community level education action plan tailored to the cultural, literacy, and language needs of the low-income Arab American population so as to (a) increase awareness and knowledge about priority environmental health concerns/risk factors and environmental justice issues; (b) increase capacity of residents to recognize and work collectively to reduce the environmental health hazards; (c) increase knowledge about available resources (e.g., environmental justice organizations, health programs, medical services, regulatory and public health agencies, transportation, etc.) that improve the community's ability to address environmental concerns and improve the community's environmental health status; (d) increase understanding of regulations and policies related to community air pollution; (VI). Undertake a process and impact evaluation using concerns brought up by the community to identify factors that facilitate or hinder the implementation and success of both the household and neighborhood components of the intervention program.

Water Quality

>> In Situ Mobilization and Stabilization of Contaminated Great Lakes This project explored the feasibility of a new technology for restoring and reclaiming contaminated Great Lakes sediments targeted for long-term storage as a way to isolate the hazard they pose from ongoing ecological damage.
>> Trace Metals and Hazardous Algal Blooms in the Great Lakes Environmental parameters including temperature, light and nutrients have been associated with cyanobacterial growth, hazardous algal blooms (HABs) and toxin production in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Our understanding of the influence of other factors, such as trace metals, on the growth of toxic algal species and their toxins production is very limited. This project combines addresses the growing public health concerns about HABs by combining laboratory and field studies in the investigation of the influence of trace metals on the occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Great Lakes and. The project uses advanced speciation methods for trace metals in natural water, and focuses specifically on the interactive effects of essential microelements (especially iron, zinc and copper) on the growth of Microcystis and the production of microcystins in the Great Lakes.

Risk Assessment

>> Childhood Lead Poisoning and Asthma in Saginaw, Michigan The overarching goal of this healthy homes project is to reduce the burdens of asthma and lead poisoning among low-income children in the City of Saginaw. The objectives of the project include (A) use a proactive screening tool developed by the investigators to identify households with the highest hazards for asthma and childhood lead poisoning; (B) screen children in the identified household for asthma and lead poisoning; (C) implement a child-centered, culturally appropriate intervention to reduce symptom days in identified children with moderate to severe asthma so as to improve their quality of life and decrease emergency department visits and hospitalizations; (D) enroll households with lead poisoned children in a Lead Hazard Remediation Program (LHRP) and refer the children to care providers for medical attention; (E) implement a household-centered educational intervention to reduce the risk factors (for asthma and lead poisoning) identified in each household. The project is done in partnership with faith-based community based organizations in Saginaw and the Saginaw County Department of Public Health

Global Health

>> Lead Poisoning and Malaria among African Children The significance and consequences of co-exposure to lead and Plasmodium have not been well researched. This project deals with lead poisoning as a co-factor for malaria among young children in Nigeria and other African countries where the two morbidities are pandemic. The principal goals include (a) determine the relationships between lead exposure and prevalence of childhood malaria in areas of Nigeria with high rates of Plasmodium infection, and (b) ascertain the confounding roles of iron deficiency and sickle cell disease (SCD) on the association between lead exposure and malaria in the study population. A working hypothesis is that lead exposure may affect the outcome of vaccines against malaria leading to erroneous conclusions on vaccine efficacy. An important goal of this project is to establish research collaboration between the our research team and local state departments and universities in Nigeria on issues pertaining to malaria and supervenient effects of exposures to environmental pollutants.