University of New Mexico METALS Superfund Center Metal Exposure and Toxicity Assessment on Tribal Lands in the Southwest

Welcome to our April 2021 Newsletter!

Visit our website and Follow us on Twitter In light of COVID-19 pandemc, the UNM METALS Superfund Center continues to follow all relevant policies regarding the pandemic issued by UNM, UNM Health Sciences, the State of New Mexico, Navajo Nation and Pueblo of Laguna.

MELISSA GONZALES, PHD (RTC, EP2) appointed to National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Guidance on PFAS Testing and Health Outcomes

The committee will consider and provide review of current evidence regarding human health effects of PFAS and provide recommendations regarding potential changes to CDC/ATSDR PFAS clinical guidance.  This information will be used to inform how communities and individuals exposed to PFAS could be best served by clinicians.

As a part of the consensus study Guidance on PFAS Testing and Health Outcomes the National Academies are seeking speakers who are activists and/or community members impacted by PFAS contamination for Middle and Western U.S. Town Halls (ATSDR Regions 5-10) taking place in May. Send nominations to Elizabeth Boyle at [email protected]

ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT 2  Toxic Metals in Airborne Particulate Matter Originating from Abandoned Uranium Mine Sites Investigators:  Melissa Gonzales, PhD, School of Medicine      Adrian Brearley, PhD, Earth & Planetary Sciences Joseph Galewski, PhD, Earth & Planetary Sciences Significance: To research project characterizes the particle size and minerology and transport of metal-bearing particulate matter (PM) from abandoned uranium mines (AUM) located on tribal lands. The metal mixtures transported from AUM represent both a contamination and public health risk from inhalational exposure. Research updates: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has identified rare, U-bearing minerals, carnotite and abernathyite, in PM samples <2.0 um in diameter collected >10 kilometers from the Jackpile AUM on Laguna Pueblo.   24-hour PM2.5 concentrations exceeded national air quality standards on hot, dry days with minimal wind, indicating that dry soils are highly susceptible to becoming windborne.  With community members from Paguate Village on Laguna Pueblo, our tribal liaison, and the METALS Community Engagement and Research Translation Cores, EP2 developed a citizen science project to sample agricultural/ background soils.  Village members were trained prior to March 2020 and samples collected in Fall 2020 under COVID access permits. Soil samples from 20 sites are being analyzed for metals concentrations and mineralogy to establish whether windborne dust from the nearby Jackpile mine may have caused contamination.   In addition to our work with Laguna Pueblo, our work with the Navajo Nation demonstrates that crystal chemistry of naturally occurring uranyl vanadate from the Claim 28 AUM is likely the precursor of nanoparticles of carnotite resulting from chemical weathering (Avasarala et al. 2020).  Read more about EP2 here Research Brief List of Publications

NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS UNM Study: Environmental pollution a key health factor In an interview for the Albuquerque Journal (Davis T. Jan 24, 2021), METALS researcher, Dr. Zychowski, and Internal Advisor Dean Kasper (UNM College of Nursing) noted that air pollution and environmental exposures, in addition to pre-existing health conditions may be contributing factors to COVID severity and mortality. Further research is warranted to fully understand and delineate the role of these stressors and COVID-related disease risk. Superfund Research Program External Use Case (EUC) UNM METALS EUC team presented an update on their work towards making SRP data FAIR at the EUC Showcase in February 2021. “Advancing Environmental and Human Health with Spatiotemporal Data Science” Drs. Johnnnye Lewis and Yen Lin are collaborating on this NSF “Harnessing the Data Revolution Institute” project with George Mason University, University of Washington, and Harvard University. This initiative supports the sharing of resources and integration of Institute computations and data sources for climate and environmental health research including METALS. Collaborating PIs include Drs. Chaowei Yang and Songqing Chen from GMU, Sankaran V. Dr. Subramanian from Harvard, Dr. Kristie Ebi from UW and Dr. Karl Benedict from UNM. Calculating Futures: The Afterlives of Environmental & Health Monitoring METALS Trainee, Thomas DePree presented this roundtable at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting in March 2021. The Roundtable engaged environmental studies scholars performing community-based research that evaluates environmental risk exposure and works to combat public health discrepancies and environmental racism.

Upcoming Presentations Risk Communication Strategies to Reduce Exposures and Improve Health Save the Date. June 21-22, 2021 for this Superfund Research Program (SRP) virtual workshop. The organizing committee, which includes Dr. Melissa Gonzales (METALS RTC and EP2) is putting an exciting lineup of speakers you will not want to miss! NIH-EPA Environmental Health Disparities Webinar Series https://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/events/ehd/022221/index.cfm MAY 24, 2021 Deborah Keil, PhD Immunotoxicological Evaluation of Lifetime Exposure to Heavy Metals in Drinking Water  Esther Erdei, PhD, MPH Adding Mental Health Outcomes and Socioeconomic Information to Exposure Assessment - a Pilot Study on the Cheyenne River

Trainee Highlights

Xin Gao Savannah LaRosa-LoPresti

Doctoral Candidate Department of Mathematics and Statistics METALS Biostatistics and Data Management Core Mentors: Drs. Luo and Li Xin’s research focuses on the causal mediation analysis that is an important tool to obtain inference on causal relationships under complex structure. Xin is working with his mentors to develop biostatistical methods to decompose the total effects into specific path effects while appropriately accounting for interaction and mediation effects. Xin has two first author manuscripts in preparation and one currently under review: Gao X., Li L., and Luo L. Decomposition of the Total Effect for Two Mediators: A Natural Counterfactual Interaction Effect Framework. Journal of Causal Inference, under review. Graduate Student Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences METALS Environmental Project 2 Mentors: Drs. Brearley, Gonzales and Galewsky Savanah is analyzing particulate matter (PM) and meteorological data collected in Pueblo of Laguna villages near the Jackpile Mine to assess windblown transport of PM containing toxic metals. She is using Scanning Electron Microscopy, ICP-MS, and other geochemical techniques to evaluate toxic metal concentrations. Her analysis of PM samples shows evidence of metals in respirable size fractions, which pose a potential inhalation exposure risks for local communities. Her work was presented in a poster at the NIEHS 2020 Annual SRP Meeting Windblown Transport of Toxic Metals in Airborne Particulate Matter Near the JackpilePaguate Uranium Mine

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Collaboration with Cameron Agricultural Ad Hoc Committee (CAAHC) Residents of Cameron Chapter of the Navajo Nation The Cameron Chapter, located north of Flagstaff, AZ, is working with the UNM METALS SRP, the Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC), and other collaborators to assess farmlands for possible impacts from nearby abandoned uranium mines (AUMs). The goal of the Cameron Agricultural Ad Hoc Committee (CAAHC) is to ensure that food grown on the farms is safe for human consumption. The CAAHC, the local Diné (Navajo) citizens group, is planning to revitalize and expand farming along the Little Colorado River. Collaborators conducted soil radiological surveys and soil sampling for uranium, other metals, and key nutrients in 2019-2020. CAAHC members were trained in the use of gamma radiation meters, proper soil, root and plant sampling methods, keeping accurate field records, and preparing for community report-backs. While preliminary results indicate that the farmlands do not appear to be impacted by releases from the AUMs, additional sampling in 2021 will target soils, irrigation water and produce on five acres of community gardens. CAAHC members and staff of the METALS SRP’s Community Engagement Core presented preliminary findings and ongoing assessment plans with Cameron Chapter officials and members during virtual synchronous meetings in February and March 2021.

Previous Newsletters February 2021 November 2020 August 2020 May 2020 February 2020 Fall 2019 Summer 2019 Summer 2018 NIH/NIEHS P42 ES025589 (UNM METALS) This material was developed in part under cited research awards to the University of New Mexico. It has not been formally reviewed by the funding agencies. The views expressed are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the agencies. The funders do not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this presentation.

Click here to visit our website