Category Archives: Events

Partnership Project Completed for Black Butte Mine Community

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[The post is adapted from a story in the October 2014 issue of NIEHS Environmental Factor – written by Sara Mishamandani, research and communication specialist for MDB Inc., a contractor for the NIEHS Superfund Research Program and Division of Extramural Research and Training]

A tool to educate K-8 students about mercury in the environment and its effects on human health is now online, thanks to a collaboration between the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) at Oregon State University (OSU), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the London School in Cottage Grove, Oregon.MercuryLogoUpdated

The cooperative project was the first pilot for the Partners in Technical Assistance Program (PTAP), launched with the London School, located near the Black Butte Mine Superfund site in rural Cottage Grove, about 70 miles south of the university. The EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation initiated the technical assistanceprogram in 2013 to help communities affected by Superfund sites understand technical information and to enable meaningful community involvement in the Superfund decision-making process.

During a Black Butte Mine community information session, London School principal Laurie Briggs requested that EPA create materials to teach students about the nearby abandoned mine, where mercury and other contamination from mine waste affect creeks that flow into the nearby Cottage Grove Lake and the Coast Fork Willamette River.  Listen to Laurie share about the project.

Screen Shot 2014-10-01 at 3.15.07 PMPutting environmental health into context

The educational package Mercury, the Community, and Me is available online as modules for K-8 teachers. The activities help connect students to the environment by defining environmental health, providing an overview of mercury and how it enters the environment and the food chain, and delivering information about mercury and human health. The resources include background information, presentations, worksheets, videos, games, and team assignments.

Two videos are also part of the curriculum. One provides more information about the Black Butte Mine Superfund site, including its historical background. The other introduces students to careers in science, highlighting scientists from the university and EPA. View the videos.

Fostering collaboration and engaging stakeholders

“EPA has a strong commitment to ensure that communities living near Superfund sites are informed and have opportunities to meaningfully engage in EPA actions to protect human health and the environment. This is a model educational project and partnership with OSU, London School, and EPA that brings together environmental health science, local history, and a Superfund site.”
~ Alanna Conley, EPA Region 10 Superfund Community Involvement Coordinator

“The excellent work done by the OSU SRP in collaboration with EPA and the London School in Cottage Grove demonstrates how the pilot PTAP can bring expertise and resources into communities near Superfund sites to meet technical assistance needs and enhance overall community restoration and cleanup.”
~ Melissa Dreyfus, lead for the EPA Headquarters PTAP Pilot

“The PTAP project provided a structure to build relationships with EPA Region 10 and impact a community living near a Superfund site. The final products also included contributions from our SRP trainees. We hope the educational resources are models for other schools and future partnerships.”  
~ Naomi Hirsch, OSU SRP Research Translation Core coordinator

The project has been well received, featured and shared widely on EPA social media platforms. In addition, the project was presented via a webinar to EPA Region 10 personnel.

Project Team from left Diana Rohlman (OSU SRP CEC), Alanna Conley (EPA, Region 10), Dan Sudakin (OSU SRP RTC), Laura Briggs (London School Principle), Naomi Hirsch (SRP RTC OSU). Not pictured: Corey Fisher (OSU SRP CEC), Melissa Dreyfus (EPA Headquarters Superfund Community Involvement Program), Kira Lynch, (EPA Region 10, Science and Tech Liaison), and Richard Muza (Region 10 - Black Butte Mine, Project Manager)
The Project Team from left Diana Rohlman (OSU SRP CEC), Alanna Conley (EPA, Region 10), Dan Sudakin (OSU SRP RTC), Laura Briggs (London School Principal), Naomi Hirsch (OSU SRP RTC). Not pictured: Corey Fisher and Molly Kile (OSU SRP CEC), Melissa Dreyfus (EPA Headquarters Superfund Community Involvement Program), Kira Lynch, (EPA Region 10, Science and Tech Liaison), and Richard Muza (Region 10 – Black Butte Mine, Project Manager)

Study Conducted with Tribe on Smoked Salmon Metabolism

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The OSU SRP – DOSE partnership in 2011 in front of a traditional smoking tipi includes SRP trainees Andres Cardenas and Oleksii Motorykin, and CEC Co-leaders Dr. Barbara Harper and Stuart Harris.

The Department of Science and Engineering (DOSE) of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) is a partner with our Superfund Research Program (SRP) Community Engagement Core (Core E).

In June 2014, DOSE recruited nine Tribal members to help with a study that would measure how people metabolize and eliminate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that can attach to food when it is smoked.

PAHs are produced by burning wood and other materials. Salmon, a first food, is important to the subsistence of Native Americans living in the Pacific Northwest. The salmon run in spring and fall. Smoking salmon is one of the traditional ways to preserve this seasonally abundant food and make it available year round.

The study team first conducted a community educational forum for study volunteers that described the purpose of the study and get informed consent. Each participant was asked to refrain from eating any foods containing PAHs for two days. Then they were asked to eat a small serving of traditionally smoked salmon.  After eating the salmon they provided urine samples to help researchers understand how the PAH residues produced during smoking events are processed by the body.

SRP Trainee Oleksii Motorykin (Project 5) is involved in this study and is working with CORE E and DOSE Scientists to interpret the data.

The Community Engagement Core has a wealth of resources shared on the web site related to working with Tribes. Be sure to check it out!

5th Graders Experience All Aspects of Zebrafish Research

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A field trip for 28 local 5th graders from Hoover Elementary School was held at the Sinnhuber Aquatic Research Laboratory (SARL) on May 12, 2014.  SARL, directed by Dr. Robyn Tanguay, is a large state- of- the -art zebrafish facility used greatly for OSU SRP Project 3 – Systems Approach to Define Toxicity of Complex PAH Mixtures.

The SARL personnel, along with SRP Trainees and other grad students and postdocs, wanted the students to get hands-on experience and enjoy science.  Specifically the students learned all the unique features of zebrafish and how they are used in scientific research.

In 2012, curriculum was developed for visiting classes.  Students break up into five groups and rotate through various stations.

1) Tour of the Land of Zebrafish / Zebrafish Life Stage: Learn about how small the fish are and how rapid they develop.

2) Glow in the Dark Zebrafish: Learn about the different tools used in research.

3) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Sort out dead and alive embryo, and determine the age of zebrafish.

4) Toxicity Screening: Learn how to get embryos into wells, view plates under the microscope, and identify normal and not normal fish.

5) Fish Are Like Us: Identify similarities between fish and humans.

Feedback from kids:

“This is so awesome!”

“Best field trip ever!”

“Cool!”

More information about zebrafish

Community-based Tribal Exposure Research Shared at the Contemporary NW Tribal Health Conference

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Diana Rohlman, CEC Program Coordinator, presented at the Contemporary Northwest Tribal Health Conference. The conference was hosted at the World Trade Center in Portland, Oregon on March 28-29, 2014.

View Presentation

Evolution of a Robust Tribal-University Research Partnership to Investigate Tribal Exposures and Build Scientific Capacity 

The Northwest Portland Area Indian Board posted all of the Conference Presentations.

The overall theme of the conference was around community-driven or community-based participatory research to advance the area of health research within Tribal communities.There were some fantastic ‘big-data’ presentations by the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) looking at intake and outtake data from federally funded clinics.  ~Diana Rohlman, Presenter, Contemporary Northwest Tribal Health Conference

Shared Highlights

The Community Engagement Core (CEC) takes OSU SRP Center expertise on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and applies it to the needs of community partners.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) has been a key partner for CEC.

CTUIR is located in Eastern Oregon, so one of the limitations to overcome is distance. One reason the partnership has thrived is because the CTUIR has scientific capacity and resources, which is unique amongst Tribal nations. Both partners are bringing scientific expertise to the table.

Graduate students gain knowledge and experience with Tribes by participating in the CEC research projects.
Graduate students gain knowledge and experience with Tribes by participating in the CEC research projects.

Five Key Features of the OSU SRP Tribal-University Partnership

  1. Utilizes Community-based Participatory Research
  2. Builds scientific and cultural capacity between CTUIR and OSU researchers
  3. Utilizes data sharing agreements to protect Tribal rights
  4. Develops culturally appropriate risk reduction strategies with CTUIR
  5. Disseminates knowledge through journals, newsletters and community meetings to provide Tribal perspectives on research practices. (See the OSU SRP web site for extensive resources that include collaborative publications and presentations.)

UC Davis Picnic Day Provided Opportunity for Connection & Engagement

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Picnic Day is an annual open house event held in April at UC Davis. It typically draws more than 50,000 visitors to the campus to learn about the research and engage in family fun activities.

The 'toxin hunt' activity organized by the UC Davis Superfund Research Program
The ‘toxin hunt’ activity organized by the UC Davis Superfund Research Program

We appreciated the invitation from the UC Davis Superfund Research Center to our Trainees to come down and participate with them in outreach. Dr. Craig Marcus, Training Core Leader, traveled with two trainees, Erin Madeen (Project 1) and Andrea Knecht (Project 3).

OSU SRP Trainee Erin Madeen (Project 1) spent time chatting with Michael Denison, (PI, Project 5) of the UC Davis Superfund Center.
OSU SRP Trainee Erin Madeen (Project 1) spent time chatting with Michael Denison, (PI, Project 5) of the UC Davis Superfund Center.

UC Davis invited us to display posters about our Center within their display area.  Having the OSU SRP there was great, because UC Davis could direct their attention to our work to learn specifically about PAHs; how people are exposed and how they affect human and environmental health.

Besides research posters, the booth had over 125 children engaged in a ‘toxin hunt’ activity. The game was an excellent way for them to understand how SRP research can impact their health.  The parents became very interested in the toxins that are being studied with the Superfund Research Program.

OSU SRP Trainee Andrea Knecht (Project 3) chats with visitors about her zebrafish research
OSU SRP Trainee Andrea Knecht (Project 3) chats with visitors about her zebrafish research

 

Picnic Day was a great opportunity for Erin and Andrea to gain more experience in outreach by sharing posters with attendees and researchers. Dr. Marcus and the trainees also had opportunities to interact individually with the leadership and project leaders of several projects in the UC Davis Superfund Center to make additional connections and establish new collaborations. We look forward to hosting UC Davis trainees for our Research Day and other exchange opportunities.