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Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Superfund Research Program

Organochlorines in New York and the Hudson

Center Director: Philip J. Landrigan
Grant Number: P42ES007384
Funding Period: 1995-1999 and 2001-2006

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Summary (2001-2006)

Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Superfund Basic Research Program consists of four research projects (3 biomedical, 1 non-biomedical), and research support cores in biostatistics and data management; exposure assessment; and genetic analysis. Administrative, training and outreach cores are also included. The goal of this program is to prevent disease, developmental dysfunction and environmental degradation associated with contamination by organochlorines. The geographic focus is the watershed of the lower Hudson River and New York City, a 300-km long, densely populated, heavily industrialized region that is contaminated by a complex mix of organochlorines (PCBs, DDT, chlordane, dieldrin, and dioxins). Biomedical studies in the program focus on neurobiological, endocrine and reproductive outcomes. Specifically, researchers are investigating (1) the inhibition of cell membrane efflux pumps by organochlorines, a possible novel mechanism of estrogenic action; (2) the disruption by organochlorines of the Wnt gene pathway in the female reproductive tract, a possible molecular genetic mechanism of developmental toxicity; and (3) the cumulative exposures to organochlorines in urban anglers who eat fish and shellfish from the lower Hudson River and New York Harbor. The non-biomedical project focuses on site-evaluation--specifically the environmental sources, distribution and fate of organochlorines in the lower Hudson River and New York Harbor.

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