Research
Arsenic Exposure and Bladder Cancer in Michigan
Jerome Nriagu, University of Michigan, Principal Investigator (PI)
Geoffrey Jacquez, BioMedware, Inc. Co-PI
An animation of participant water sources
over the study area and period.
This work is supported by grant R01-CA096002 for 2002-7 from the National Cancer Institute. The BioMedware subcontract on this research is $676,269.
Research Abstract
The objective of this research is to explore the factors that have contributed to the observed geographic co-clustering in bladder cancer mortality and arsenic concentrations in drinking water in Michigan. The focus will be on the spatial and spatio-temporal patterns of arsenic exposure and how these may relate to the incidence of bladder cancer in those areas of Michigan with elevated levels of arsenic in their drinking water. Reported arsenic concentrations in well waters in the study area range from 1 to 1310 µg/l, with most common levels being 5-50 µg/l.
The project consists of three components:
- Construction of exposure scenarios with time dimension that will involve development of the novel space-time information system (STIS) model to be validated using a combination of space-and-time-dependent concentrations of arsenic measured in the study, supplementary historical information on arsenic levels in water supplies, hydrogeochemistry of the area, and self-reported residence information and water drinking habits;
- Biomonitoring of arsenic exposure to be based on analysis of toenails (known to indicate average exposure over a relatively long time) for arsenic and a number of confounding trace elements such as selenium, zinc, copper and antimony;
- A population-based, case-control bladder cancer study which will be used as an outcome measure for exposure to arsenic in drinking water. Bladder cancer cases (700) and controls (700, matched to cases by sex, race, county of residence, and ± 5-year age groups) will be recruited from long-term residents of the 11 counties (Genesee, Huron, Ingham, Jackson, Lapeer, Livingston, Oakland, Sanilac, Shiawassee, Tuscola and Washtenaw) with elevated levels of arsenic in their groundwater. Structured personal interviews will be administered to obtain information on lifetime residential history, current and past water consumption patterns, life-style risk factors (including cigarette smoking and alcohol use), medical history, occupational history, family history of cancer, and dietary habits.
The study is designed to shed some light on the dose-response relations for exposure of the U.S. population to arsenic concentrations in the 5-100 µg/l range where little information currently exists. Current efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the maximum contaminant level for arsenic in our drinking water have been bedeviled by contradictory and unvalidated predictions of the risks of chronic exposure to low levels (< 100 µg/l) of arsenic in water.
Presentations
4/2005, AvRuskin et al. Association of American Geographers. Individual exposure reconstruction using a time geographic approach.
Jacquez et al. 4/2005. Case-control clustering for residential histories. Association of American Geographers.
Slotnick et al. 11/2004, Improving exposure assessment in environmental epidemiology: Application of a Space-Time Information System (STIS) to assess arsenic exposure in drinking water. American Public Health Association
AvRuskin et al. 11/2004, Creating a Space Time Information System to Investigate Arsenic Exposure in Drinking Water. GISCience 2004
Meliker et al. 10/2004, Generating Continuous Exposure Estimates over the Life Course: Applications of a Space Time Information System. International Society for Exposure Analysis
Goovaerts et al. 6/2004, Modeling Uncertainty about Pollutant Concentration and Human Exposure using Geostatistics and a Space-time Information System: Application to Arsenic in Groundwater of Southeast Michigan. Sixth International Symposium on Spatial Accuracy Assessment in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Goovaerts et al., 4/2004, Modeling Uncertainty about Pollutant Concentration and Human Exposure using Geostatistics and a Space-time Information System: Application to Arsenic in Groundwater of Southeast Michigan. Tufts University, Boston, MA.
Goovaerts et al. 12/2003, Geostatistical Modeling of Uncertainty Attached to the Spatial Distribution of Arsenic in Groundwater of Southeast Michigan. AGU Fall Meeting.
Publications
Jacquez, G.M., P. Goovaerts, and P. Rogerson. 2005. Space-Time Intelligence Systems: Technology, applications, and methods. Journal of Geographical Systems 7: 1-5.
Jacquez, G.M., D.A. Greiling, and A.M. Kaufmann. 2005. Design and implementation of a Space-Time Intelligence System for disease surveillance. Journal of Geographical Systems 7: 7-23.
Meliker, J R, M J Slotnick, G A AvRuskin, A Kaufmann, G M. Jacquez, J O. Nriagu. 2005. Improving exposure assessment in environmental epidemiology: Application of spatio-temporal visualization tools. Journal of Geographical Systems 7: 49-66.
AvRuskin, G.A., G.M. Jacquez, J.R. Meliker, M.J. Slotnick, A.M. Kaufmann, and J.O. Nriagu. 2004. Visualization and exploratory analysis of epidemiologic data using a novel space time information system. International Journal of Health Geographics 2004, 3:26.
Conferences
BioMedware held two joint conferences for the planning and review of the Arsenic project. These conference held with participants in other BioMedware research projects that relate to the space-time information system theme (Atlas and STroodle): January 2003 and January 2002.