The AESOP Study: Airborne Exposures to Semi-volatile Organic Pollutants

AESOP Study: Prospective human cohort study that is the first to comprehensively assess the PCB exposome for school children and their mothers through direct measurement of the PCBs they breathe at school and at home and in the food they eat. Since 2008 we have measured PCBs in the air of participants' homes, schools, and outdoor environments and have collected blood and measured PCBs and PCB metabolites in their serum.

Goal

Examine the role of personal inhalation exposures to PCBs at home and in schools for their contributions to health issues

Objective

Demonstrate that both inhalation and diet contribute to exposures to specific PCBs that are associated with elevated risks for oxidative stress, inflammation, hormone disruption, and metabolic syndrome.

Aims

1) Collect and analyze demographic, residential, occupational, activity, dietary, and health data from AESOP Study participants.

2) Characterize the personal exposures to PCB congeners among children and their mothers and apportion exposures inhalation and diet at the congener level.

3) Assess adolescent children’s time-integrated personal exposure to airborne PCBs.

4) Model PCB congener exposures and body burdens and compare modeled and measured data.