Pilot Exposure Investigation: Dioxin Exposure in Adults Living in the Tittabawassee River Flood Plain, Saginaw County, Michigan

Protocol Summary The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) will conduct soil, indoor dust, and blood sampling for polychlorinated dioxins, furans, and coplanar PCBs. Based on the results of preliminary soil sampling in residential yards, 25 adults will be asked to participate in the Pilot Exposure Investigation. Participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their occupations and about behaviors such as consumption of sport-caught fish that could contribute to dioxin body burdens. Blood samples will be drawn from participants and indoor dust samples will be taken from participants' homes. One purpose of the Pilot Exposure Investigation is to provide information on the levels of dioxins in soil, indoor dust, and blood samples for 25 residents of the flood plain. If the investigation results suggest the need, residents can use this information to modify their behavior to limit exposure to impacted media. Another purpose of this Pilot Exposure Investigation is to test the sampling criteria, questionnaire, and blood and indoor dust sampling methods prior to the implementation of a larger investigation that will include residents from the city of Midland, the flood plain of the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw County, Michigan and a control community with no known exposure to polychlorinated dioxins, furans, and coplanar PCBs beyond background. The Pilot Exposure Investigation may provide preliminary information about the relationship, if any, between dioxin blood levels and dioxin TEQ levels in soil, and indoor dust. This information will be used to refine the design of the larger investigation to be conducted in the future. Stakeholder Review The MDEQ has created a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) to provide stakeholder input on off-site corrective action activities conducted under the hazardous waste facility operating license issued to the Dow Chemical Company on June 12, 2003. The CAP acts in an advisory capacity, not as a decision-making body. The role of the CAP is to provide focused input to the MDEQ on issues related to corrective action activities for Midland area soil contamination and Tittabawassee/Saginaw River sediment and flood plain soil contamination. The CAP will recommend actions necessary for minimizing exposure and preventing exacerbation of contamination, and to determine whether there any other currently unmet needs (e.g., advisories, public communication/education) to be addressed. Meetings are held approximately monthly in the Midland/Tittabawassee River/Saginaw area. CAP members include representatives of local governments, the local health departments for Midland and …