From spiralmom at peak.org Tue Jan 10 09:59:16 2012
From: spiralmom at peak.org (Eron king)
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:59:16 -0800
Subject: [Hwy_36_exposure_investigation] what is going on
Does PARC have NO authority???
You said you have requested the spray records from ODF. They have not complied AT ALL!! When do you all stand up and make things happen?? Surely some agency or agency person has the authority to MAKE ODF COMPLY??? ARE WE REALLY STILL WAITING ON ODF??
Jae Douglas, what is going to happen next? We are still just sitting out here wondering what the hell is going on???? Surely the Timber Companies don't have that much pull with you!!
-Eron King and her children!!
From karen.bishop at state.or.us Wed Jan 11 11:51:31 2012
From: karen.bishop at state.or.us (BISHOP Karen)
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:51:31 +0000
Subject: [Hwy_36_exposure_investigation] Exposure Investigation updates
Message-ID: <C21BFAFC321A854F86DBCF9975FB9EFE572319@WPDHSEXCL06.dhs.sdc.pvt>
Greetings:
The exposure investigation team has been receiving questions about topics that may be of interest to the whole community, so we have re-posted answers here, along with other updates:
Limits of Detection:
There have been several questions about the limits of detection (LOD) used by the CDC lab for the urine analysis. Here are the LODs used by the lab that analyzed the August urine samples, all of which are measured in micrograms per liter (?g/L):
? 2,4-D: 0.1
? Atrazine: 0.0615
? Atrazine metabolites:
? Atrazine mercapturate: 0.0555 – 0.0561
? desethyl Atrazine mercapturate: 0.0713 – 0.1061
? diaminochloroatrazine: 0.1447 – 0.1633
? desethyl Atrazine: 0.0833 – 0.0858
? desisopropyl Atrazine: 0.2329 – 0.2500
? desisopropyl Atrazine mercapturate: 0.0532 – 0.0537
Creatinine adjustment:
There has been some confusion about how the results were reported. As you can see above, the limits of detection used by the lab are measured in micrograms per liter of urine. However, the results were reported with an adjustment made for each person's creatinine levels in order to correct for differences in people's levels of hydration. Creatinine is a chemical that our bodies produce naturally, and is found in urine.
If you compare your results with someone else, without adjusting for creatinine levels, then a person who is well hydrated will appear to have levels of chemicals that are much lower than someone who was not well hydrated – even if the levels of chemicals are the same.
The letters that participants received provided their creatinine-adjusted results, which is measured in micrograms per gram of creatinine.
95th percentile – what does it mean?
There is still some confusion over what the 95th percentile means. With regards to 2, 4-D, the 95th percentile is 1.08 micrograms of 2, 4 D per gram of creatinine. This means that the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) shows 95% of the general US population has levels less than 1.08 micrograms of 2,4-D per gram of creatinine. Another way to say that is that only 5% have shown levels higher than that. If your personal results were higher than the 95th percentile, that does not mean you are in the top 5% of those tested in the Highway 36 area. It means that your results are greater than those found in 95% of the general US population as compared to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a study of the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States over time. You can get more information about NHANES by visiting the website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm
Scientific articles & other information:
Our team is working with ATSDR's Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine to ensure that we are aware of and can consider the latest and most complete scientific information. We welcome scientific articles that anyone would like to share with us, and will evaluate them as part of our literature review. If you would like to submit an article or other information for us to consider, please send it via e-mail to karen.bishop at state.or.us<mailto:karen.bishop at state.or.us> or via postal service to: Karen Bishop, 800 NE Oregon St., Suite 640, Portland, OR 97232.
Community Involvement:
Based on the feedback we received at the November open house and afterwards, it seems that people would like for us to:
* Keep providing information on the listserv, through individual emails, and the postal service
* Alternate large formal meetings and open houses, as needed
* Be available for smaller group meetings, teleconference calls and/or educational workshops on subjects like toxicology, epidemiology, and using natural methods to control invasive weeds like knapweed and tansy.
If you have ideas for smaller group conversations or educational topics, please share them with us.
Environmental Samples:
The results from the soil/food/water samples have been analyzed by the lab, and are now undergoing quality assurance by the EPA. EPA expects to be finished within two weeks, which means that the results will be sent to individual participants soon thereafter. If you are a participant, you can expect to see your letter in the mail by the first part of February.
Application records request:
The Oregon Health Authority has requested application records for the last three years from the Departments of Forestry and Agriculture. These records will be used for the explicit purpose of the exposure investigation, in an attempt to identify potential sources of exposure by comparing them to urine and environmental sample results. ODF and ODA have indicated they will comply with the request. We appreciate your patience with the process.
Spring Sampling:
We will soon begin recruiting people to participate in the spring phase of the exposure investigation, which we expect will occur in February and March. Look for information in the mail, and through the listserv soon.